New HⅠObservations Toward the NGC 5055 Galaxy Group with FAST

We report a new high-sensitivity HⅠmapping observation of the NGC 5055 galaxy group over an area of 1°.5×0°.75 with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST).Our observation reveals that the warped HⅠdisk of NGC 5055 is more extended than what was previously observed by WSRT,out to239(61.7 kpc).The total HⅠmass of NGC 5055 is determined to be~1.1×10^(10)M_Θ.We identified three HⅠclouds with HⅠmasses of the order of~10^(7)M_Θat the southeastern edge of the HⅠdisk,as well as a candidate high-velocity cloud with an HⅠmass of(1.2±0.5)×10^(6)M_Θto the north of NGC 5055.The HⅠcontent of UGCA337 is robustly detected for the first time by the FAST observations.It has a narrow HⅠlinewidth of W_(50)=17.4±3.8 km s^(-1)with a total HⅠmass of(3.5±0.3)×10^(6)M_Θ.Comparing the gas content and g-r color of UGCA 337 with typical low-mass dwarf galaxies,UGCA 337 appears relatively gas-poor despite its blue color.This suggests that UGCA 337 may have undergone gas stripping in the past.We also analyzed the possible origin of the diffuse HⅠclouds located at the outskirts of NGC 5055,and speculate that they might be the remnant features of a merger event in the past.

Multiwavelength Observations of the Infrared Dust Bubble N75 and its Surroundings

Infrared dust bubbles play an important role in the study of star formation and the evolution of the interstellar medium.In this work,we study the infrared dust bubble N75 and the infrared dark cloud G38.93 mainly using the tracers C^(18)O,HCO^(+),HNC and N_(2)H^(+)observed by the 30 m IRAM telescope.We also study the targets using data from large-scale surveys:GLIMPSE,MIPSGAL,GRS,NRAO VLA Sky Survey and Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey.We found that the C^(18)O emission is morphologically similar to the Spitzer IRAC 8.0μm emission.The1.1 mm cold dust emission of G38.93 shows an elongated structure from southwest to northeast.The ionized gas from G38.93 is surrounded by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission,which may be excited by radiation from G38.93.We found that the identified young stellar objects tend to cluster around G38.93 and are mostly in class II with several class I cases distributed around N75,but no class II examples.We also found evidence of expanding feedback,which could have triggered star formation.

Possible Habitats for NH_(3),NH_(2)D,H^(13)CN,HC^(15)N,SO,and C^(18)O in the Initial Conditions of High-mass Star Formation

The initial condition of high-mass star formation is a complex area of study because of the high densities(n_(H_(2))>106cm^(-3))and low temperatures(T_(dust)<18 K)involved.Under such conditions,many molecules become depleted from the gas phase by freezing out onto dust grains.However,the N-bearing and deuterated species could remain gaseous under these extreme conditions,suggesting that they may serve as ideal tracers.In this paper,using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer and Very Large Array observations at 1.3 mm,3.5 mm,and 1.3 cm,we investigate the possible habitats for NH_(3),NH_(2)D,H^(13)CN,HC^(15)N,SO,and C^(18)O in eight massive precluster and protocluster clumps G18.17,G18.21,G23.97N,G23.98,G23.44,G23.97S,G25.38,and G25.71.We found that the NH3cores are in good agreement with the 3.5 mm peak emission,but the NH_(3)is much more extended than the 3.5 mm emission structure.The SO distributions agree well with the 3.5 mm peaks for the evolved star formation stage,but we did not detect any SO emission in the four earliest star formation sources.C^(18)O is a poor tracer in conditions of the cold(■18 K)and dense(■10^(4)cm^(-3))cores,e.g.,the prestellar cores.We also found that the NH_(2)D cores are mainly located in the temperature range of 13.0-20.0 K,and the NH_(2)D lines may be strongly depleted above 20 K.

Radio Frequency Interference Mitigation and Statistics in the Spectral Observations of FAST

In radio astronomy,radio frequency interference(RFI)becomes more and more serious for radio observational facilities.The RFI always influences the search and study of the interesting astronomical objects.Mitigating the RFI becomes an essential procedure in any survey data processing.The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)is an extremely sensitive radio telescope.It is necessary to find out an effective and precise RFI mitigation method for FAST data processing.In this work,we introduce a method to mitigate the RFI in FAST spectral observation and make a statistic for the RFI using~300 h FAST data.The details are as follows.First,according to the characteristics of FAST spectra,we propose to use the Asymmetrically Reweighted Penalized Least Squares algorithm for baseline fitting.Our test results show that it has a good performance.Second,we flag the RFI with four strategies,which are to flag extremely strong RFI,flag long-lasting RFI,flag polarized RFI,and flag beam-combined RFI,respectively.The test results show that all the RFI above a preset threshold could be flagged.Third,we make a statistic for the probabilities of polarized XX and YY RFI in FAST observations.The statistical results could tell us which frequencies are relatively quiescent.With such statistical data,we are able to avoid using such frequencies in our spectral observations.Finally,based on the~300 h FAST data,we obtained an RFI table,which is the most complete database currently for FAST.

Performance of FAST with an Ultra-Wide Bandwidth Receiver at 500–3300 MHz

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)has been running for several years.A new ultra-wide bandwidth(UWB)receiver,simultaneously covering 500-3300 MHz,has been mounted in the FAST feed cabin and has passed a series of observational tests.The whole UWB band is separated into four independent bands.Each band has 1,048,576 channels in total,resulting in a spectral resolution of 1 kHz.At 500-3300 MHz,the antenna gain is around 14.3-7.7 K Jy^(-1),the aperture efficiency is around 0.56-0.30,the system temperature is around 88-130 K,and the half-power beamwidth is around 7.6'-1.6'.The measured standard deviation of pointing accuracy is better than~7.9"when zenith angle is within 26.4°.The sensitivity and stability of the UWB receiver are confirmed to satisfy expectations through spectral observations,e.g.,HI and OH.The FAST UWB receiver has already demonstrated good performance in capturing sensitive observations for various scientific goals.

Star formation associated with the infrared dust bubble N68

We investigated the environment of the infrared dust bubble N68 and searched for evidence of triggered star formation in its surroundings. We performed a multiwavelength study of the nebula with data taken from several large-scale surveys： GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, IRAS, NVSS, GRS and JCMT. We analyzed the spectral pro- file and the distribution of the molecular gas （13CO J -- 1 - 0 and J -- 3 - 2）, and the dust in the environment of N68. The position-velocity diagram clearly shows that N68 may be expanding outward. We used two three-color images of the mid-infrared emis- sion to explore the physical environment, and one color-color diagram to investigate the distribution of young stellar objects （YSOs）. We found that the 24 p^m emission is surrounded by the 8.0 ~m emission. Morphologically, the 1.4 GHz continuum strongly correlates with the 24 gm emission, and the 13CO J -- 1 - 0 and J -- 3 - 2 emissions correlate well with the 8.0 p^m emission. We investigated two compact cores located in the shell of N68. The spectral intensity ratios of 13CO J -- 3 - 2 to J = 1 - 0 range from 5 to 0.3. In addition, YSOs, masers, IRAS and UC HII regions are distributed in the shell of the bubble. The active region may be triggered by the expansion of the bubble N68.

Gas emission and dynamics in the infrared dark cloud G31.23＋0.05

We performed a multiwavelength study towards the infrared dark cloud （IRDC） G31.23＋0.05 with new CO observations from Purple Mountain Observatory and archival data （the GLIMPSE, MIPSGAL, HERSCHEL, ATLASGAL, BGPS and NVSS surveys）. From these observations, we iden- tified three IRDCs with systemic velocities of 108.36 ± 0.06 （cloud A）, 104.22 ± 0.11 （cloud B） and 75.73 ± 0.07 km s-1 （cloud C） in the line of sight towards IRDC G31.23. Analyses of the molecular and dust emission suggest that cloud A is a filamentary structure containing a young stellar object; clouds B and C both include a starless core. Clouds A and B are gravitationally bound and have a chance to form stars. In addition, the velocity information and the position-velocity diagram suggest that clouds A and B are adjacent in space and provide a clue hinting at a possible cloud-cloud collision. Additionally, the distribution of dust temperature shows a temperature bubble. The compact core in cloud A is associated with an UCHII region, an IRAS source, H20 masers, CH3OH masers and OH masers, suggesting that massive star formation is active there. We estimate the age of the HII region to be （0.03-0.09）Myr, indicating that the star inside is young.

Radio recombination line observations at 1.0-1.5 GHz with FAST

H Ⅱ regions made of gas ionized by radiations from young massive stars,are widely distributed in the Milky Way.They are tracers for star formation,and their distributions are correlated with the Galactic spiral structure.Radio recombination lines(RRLs) of hydrogen and other atoms allow for the most precise determination of physical parameters such as temperature and density.However,RRLs at around 1.4 GHz from HⅡ regions are weak and their detections are difficult.As a result,only a limited number of detections have been obtained yet.The 19-beam receiver on board of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST) can simultaneously cover 23 RRLs for Hnα,Henα,and Cnα(n=164-186),respectively.This,combined with its unparalleled collecting area,makes FAST the most powerful telescope to detect weak RRLs.In this pilot survey,we use FAST to observe nine HⅡ regions at L band.We allocate20 minutes pointing time for each source to achieve a sensitivity of around 9 mK in a velocity resolution of2.0 km s^(-1).In total,21 RRLs for Hnα and Cnα at 1.0-1.5 GHz have been simultaneously detected with strong emission signals.Overall,the detection rates for the H167α and C167α RRLs are 100%,while that for the He167α RRL is 33.3%.Using hydrogen and helium RRLs,we measure the electron density,electron temperature,and pressure for three HⅡ regions.This pilot survey demonstrates the capability of FAST in RRL measurements,and a statistically meaningful sample with RRL detection,through which knowledge about Galactic spiral structure and evolution can be obtained,is expected in the future.

Probing star formation and feedback using CCOSMA and archival data in the CFG028.68–0.28 quasi-sinusoidal filament

We have performed a multi-wavelength study toward a quasi-sinusoidal filament(CFG028.68–0.28). A new large-scale ^12CO J = 3-2 map was obtained from the China-Cologne Observation for Sub Millimeter Astronomy(CCOSMA) 3m radio telescope. Based on the ATLASGAL catalog, we have identified 27 dust clumps in the filament. Through the relationship between the mass and radius of these clumps, 67% of these clumps are dense and massive enough to potentially form massive stars. The obtained CFE is ~11% in the filament. The filament has a linear mass density of ~305 M⊙pc^-1, which is smaller than its critical mass to length ratio. This suggests that the external pressure from the neighboring H Ⅱ regions may help prevent the filament from dispersing under the effects of turbulence. Comparing the energy injection from outflows and H Ⅱ regions in the filament, the ionization feedback from the H Ⅱ regions can help maintain the observed turbulence.

An investigation of a magnetic cataclysmic variable with a period of 14.1 ks

Magnetic cataclysmic variables （CVs） contain a white dwarf （WD） with a magnetic field strong enough to control the accretion flow from a late type secondary. In this paper, we identify a magnetic CV （CXOGSG J215544.4＋380116） from the Chandra archive data. The X-ray light curves show a significant period of 14.1 ks, and the X-ray spectra can be described by a multi-temperature hot thermal plasma, suggesting the source is a magnetic CV. The broad dip in the X-ray light curve is due to the eclipse of the primary magnetic pole, and the additional dip in the bright phase of the soft and medium bands may be caused by the accretion stream crossing our line of sight to the primary pole. Follow-up optical spectra show features of an M2-M4 dwarf dominating the red band and a WD which is responsible for the weak upturn in the blue band. The mass （~ 0.4 34⊙） and radius （~0.4 R⊙） for the M dwarf are obtained using CV evolution models and empirical relations between the orbital period and the mass/radius. The estimated low X-ray luminosity and accretion rate may suggest the source is a low-accretion-rate polar. In addition, Very Large Array observations reveal a possible radio counterpart to the X-ray source, but with a low significance. Further radio observations with high quality are needed to confirm the radio counterpart and explore the properties of this binary system.

Searching for initial stage of massive star formation around the HⅡ region G18.2–0.3

Sometimes, early star formation can be found in cold and dense molecular clouds, such as an infrared dark cloud. Considering that star formation often occurs in clusters, H II regions may be triggering a new generation of star formation, so we can search for the initial stage of massive star formation around H II regions. Based on the above, this work introduces one method to search for the initial stage of massive star formation around H II regions. Towards one section of the H II region G18.2-0.3, multiwavelength observations are carried out to investigate its physical properties. Through analysis, we find three potential initial stages of massive star formation, suggesting that it is feasible to use in searching for the initial stage of massive star formation around H II regions.

HI detection of J030417.78+002827.4 by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope

We present the first HI 21 cm spectroscopy detection of J030417.78+002827.4,which is an active galactic nucleus(AGN)with an intermediate-mass black hole(IMBH)in the center.The observations were carried out with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope(FAST)last year.We relied on the ON-OFF observing approach with the 19-beam receiver covering 1.05-1.45 GHz.Within a total integration time of about 20 min,the root mean square(RMS)of our data reaches 1.2 mJy beam-1,at a velocity resolution of 1.6 km s^(-1).Radio frequency interference(RFI)is checked and excluded during the data analysis.The detected HI spectroscopy shows a dual-horned profile with a line width of 223.5 km s^(-1),indicating gas rotation around this AGN.The redshift of this galaxy derived from our HI observation is0.0447.We calculate the atomic gas mass by the integrated flux of the HI emission line.The total gas mass in this galaxy is estimated to be 1.8×10^(10)M☉.We find the fraction of gas-to-stellar mass ratio in J030417.78+002827.4 is more than 50%.This ratio is much higher than the typical value found in other AGNs with supermassive black holes(SMBHs),and is comparable to some star-forming galaxies recently observed by FAST.

Multi-wavelength study of triggered star formation around 25 H II regions

We investigate 25 H II regions that show bubble morphology in 13CO（1-0） and infrared data, to search for quantitative evidence of triggered star formation by processes described by the collect and collapse （CC） and radiatively driven implosion （RDI） models. These H II regions display the morphology of a complete or partial bubble at 8 μm, and are all associated with the molecular clouds that surround them. We found that the electron temperature ranges from 5627 K to 6839 K in these H II regions, and the average electron temperature is 6083 K. The age of these H II regions is from 3.0× 10^5 yr to 1.7 × 10^6 yr, and the mean age is 7.7 × 10^5 yr. Based on the mor- phology of the associated molecular clouds, we divide these H II regions into three groups, which may support CC and RDI models. We select 23 young IRAS sources which have an infrared luminosity of 〉 10^3 Lo in 19 H II regions. In addition, we iden- tify some young stellar objects （including Class I sources）, which are only concen- trated in H II regions G29.007＋0.076, G44.339-0.827 and G47.028＋0.232. The poly- cyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emissions of the three H II regions all show a cometary globule. Comparing the age of each H II region with the characteristic timescales for star formation, we suggest that the three H II regions can trigger clustered star forma- tion by an RDI process. In addition, we detect seven molecular outflows in the five H II regions for the first time. These outflow sources may be triggered by the corresponding H II regions.

A statistical study towards high-mass BGPS clumps with the MALT90 survey

In this work,we perform a statistical investigation towards 50 high-mass clumps using data from the Bolocam Galactic Plane Survey（BGPS）and Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90-GHz survey（MALT90）.Eleven dense molecular lines（N2H^＋（1–0）,HNC（1–0）,HCO^＋（1–0）,HCN（1–0）,HN^（13）C（1–0）,H^（13）CO^＋（1–0）,C2H（1–0）,HC3N（10–9）,SiO（2–1）,^（13）CS（2–1）and HNCO（4（4,0）-3（0,3）））are detected.N2H^＋ and HNC are shown to be good tracers for clumps in various evolutionary stages since they are detected in all the fields.The detection rates of N-bearing molecules decrease as the clumps evolve,but those of O-bearing species increase with evolution.Furthermore,the abundance ratios[N2H^＋]/[HCO^＋]and log（[HC3N]/[HCO^＋]）decline with log（[HCO^＋]）as two linear functions,respectively.This suggests that N^＋2H^＋ and HC3N transform to HCOas the clumps evolve.We also find that C2H is the most abundant molecule with an order of magnitude 10^（-8）.In addition,three new infall candidates,G010.214–00.324,G011.121–00.128 and G012.215–00.118（a）,are discovered to have large-scale infall motions and infall rates with an order of magnitude 10^（-3）M⊙yr^（-1）.

The FAST all sky HI survey(FASHI):The first release of catalog

The FAST All Sky HI survey(FASHI)was designed to cover the entire sky observable by the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST),spanning approximately 22000 square degrees of declination between-14°and+66°,and in the frequency range of 1050-1450 MHz,with the expectation of eventually detecting more than 100000 HI sources.Between August 2020 and June 2023,FASHI had covered more than 7600 square degrees,which is approximately 35%of the total sky observable by FAST.It has a median detection sensitivity of around 0.76 m Jy beam-1and a spectral line velocity resolution of~6.4 km s-1at a frequency of~1.4 GHz.As of now,a total of 41741 extragalactic HI sources have been detected in the frequency range 1305.5-1419.5 MHz,corresponding to a redshift limit of z■0.09.By cross-matching FASHI sources with the Siena Galaxy Atlas(SGA)and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey(SDSS)catalogs,we found that 16972(40.7%)sources have spectroscopic redshifts and 10975(26.3%)sources have only photometric redshifts.Most of the remaining 13794(33.0%)HI sources are located in the direction of the Galactic plane,making their optical counterparts difficult to identify due to high extinction or high contamination of Galactic stellar sources.Based on current survey results,the FASHI survey is an unprecedented blind extragalactic H I survey.It has higher spectral and spatial resolution and broader coverage than the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey(ALFALFA).When completed,FASHI will provide the largest extragalactic HI catalog and an objective view of HI content and large-scale structure in the local universe.

HiFAST:An HIdata calibration and imaging pipeline for FAST

The Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope(FAST)has the largest aperture and a 19-beam L-band receiver,making it powerful for investigating the neutral hydrogen atomic gas(HI)in the universe.We present HiFAST(https://hifast.readthedocs.io),a dedicated,modular,and self-contained calibration and imaging pipeline for processing the H?data of FAST.The pipeline consists of frequency-dependent noise diode calibration,baseline fitting,standing wave removal using an FFT-based method,flux density calibration,stray radiation correction,and gridding to produce data cubes.These modules can be combined as needed to process the data from most FAST observation modes:tracking,drift scanning,On-The-Fly mapping,and most of their variants.With HiFAST,the root-mean-square(RMS)noises of the calibrated spectra from all 19 beams were only slightly(~5%)higher than the theoretical expectation.The results for the extended source M33 and the point sources are consistent with the results from Arecibo.The moment maps(0,1 and 2)of M33 agree well with the results from the Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey(AGES)with a fractional difference of less than 10%.For a common sample of 221 sources with signal-to-noise ratio S/N>10 from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA(ALFALFA)survey,the mean value of fractional difference in the integrated flux density,Sint,between the two datasets is approximately 0.005%,with a dispersion of 15.4%.Further checks on the integrated flux density of 23 sources with seven observations indicate that the variance in the flux density of the source with luminous objects(Sint>2.5 Jy km s-1)is less than 5%.Our tests suggest that the FAST telescope,with the efficient,precise,and user-friendly pipeline HiFAST,will yield numerous significant scientific findings in the investigation of the H?in the universe.