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.

Early Phases of Star Formation: Testing Chemical Tools

Star-forming processes strongly influence the ISM chemistry.Nowadays,many high-quality databases are available at millimeter wavelengths.Using them,it is possible to carry out studies that review and deepen previous results.If these studies involve large samples of sources,it is preferred to use direct tools to study the molecular gas.With the aim of testing these tools such as the use of the HCN/HNC ratio as a thermometer,and the use of H^(13)CO^(+),HC_(3)N,N_(2)H^(+) and C_(2)H as "chemical clocks," we present a molecular line study toward 55 sources representing massive young stellar objects at different evolutionary stages:infrared dark clouds(IRDCs),highmass protostellar objects(HMPOs),hot molecular cores(HMCs) and ultracompact H II regions.We found that the use of the HCN/HNC ratio as a universal thermometer in the ISM should be taken with care because the HCN optical depth is a big issue that can affect the method.Hence,this tool should be utilized only after a careful analysis of the HCN spectrum,checking that no line,neither the main nor the hyperfine ones,presents absorption features.We point out that the analysis of the emission of H^(13)CO^(+),HC_(3)N,N_(2)H^(+) and C_(2)H could be useful to trace and distinguish regions among IRDCs,HMPOs and HMCs.The molecular line widths of these four species increase from the IRDC to the HMC stage,which can be a consequence of the gas dynamics related to the starforming processes taking place in the molecular clumps.Our results not only contribute with more statistics,acting as a probe of such chemical tools,useful to obtain information in large samples of sources,but also complement previous works through the analysis of other types of sources.

What is the Role of Gravity,Turbulence and Magnetic Fields in High-mass Star Formation Clouds?

To explore the potential role of gravity,turbulence and magnetic fields in high-mass star formation in molecular clouds,this study revisits the velocity dispersion–size(σ–L)and density–size(ρ–L)scalings and the associated turbulent energy spectrum using an extensive data sample.The sample includes various hierarchical density structures in high-mass star formation clouds,across scales of 0.01–100 pc.We observeσ∝L^(0.26)andρ∝L^(-1.54)scalings,converging toward a virial equilibrium state.A nearly flat virial parameter–mass(α_(vir)-M)distribution is seen across all density scales,withα_(vir)values centered around unity,suggesting a global equilibrium maintained by the interplay between gravity and turbulence across multiple scales.Our turbulent energy spectrum(E(k))analysis,based on theσ–L andρ–L scalings,yields a characteristic E(k)∝k^(-1.52).These findings indicate the potential significance of gravity,turbulence,and possibly magnetic fields in regulating dynamics of molecular clouds and high-mass star formation therein.

History of Star Formation and Chemical Enrichment in the Milky Way Disk

Based on a physical treatment of the star formation law similar to that given by Efstathiou, we have improved our two-component chemical evolution model for the Milky Way disk. Two gas infall rates are compared, one exponential, one Gaussian. It is shown that the star formation law adopted in this paper depends more strongly on the gas surface density than that in Chang et al. It has large effects on the history of star formation and gas evolution of the whole disk. In the solar neighborhood, the history of chemical evolution and star formation is not sensitive to whether the infall rate is Gaussian or exponential. For the same infall time scale, both forms predict the same behavior for the current properties of the Galactic disk. The model predictions do depend on whether or not the infall time scale varies with the radius, but current available observations cannot decide which case is the more realistic. Our results also show that it would be inadequate to describe the gradient evolution along the Galactic disk by only one word "flatter" or "steeper", as was suggested by Hou et al. and Chiapinni et al. We point out that both the absolute value and the evolution of the abundance gradient may be different in the inner and outer regions.

Observational evidence for the evolution of nuclear metallicity and star formation rate with the merger stage

We investigate the evolution of nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance and star formation rate（SFR） of local far-infrared selected star-forming galaxies along the merger sequence, as traced by their optical morphologies. The sample was drawn from a cross-correlation analysis of the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift Survey and 1 Jy ultraluminous infrared galaxy sample with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 database. The investigation is done by comparing our sample to a control sample matched in the normalized redshift distribution in two diagnostics, which are the nuclear gas-phase metallicity vs.stellar mass and the nuclear SFR vs. stellar mass diagrams. Galaxies with different morphological types show different mass-metallicity relations（MZRs）. Compared to the MZR defined by the control sample,isolated spirals have comparable metallicities with the control sample at a given stellar mass. Spirals in pairs and interacting galaxies with projected separations of rp 〉 20 kpc show a mild metallicity dilution of0.02–0.03 dex. Interacting galaxies with rp 〈 20 kpc, pre-mergers and advanced mergers are underabundant by～0.06,～0.05 and～0.04 dex, respectively. This shows an evolutionary trend that the metallicity is increasingly depressed as the merging proceeds and it is diluted most dramatically when two galaxies are closely interacting. Afterwards, the interstellar medium（ISM） is enriched when the galaxies coalesce.This is the first time that such ISM enrichment at the final coalescence stage has been observed, which demonstrates the importance of supernova explosions in affecting the nuclear metallicity. Moreover, the central SFR enhancement relative to the control sample evolves simultaneously with the nuclear gas-phase oxygen abundance. Our results support the predictions from numerical simulations.

The HI gas and star formation in star-forming galaxies selected from ALFALFA

This paper presents the results of Hαimaging of 169 galaxies randomly selected from the α.40-SDSS catalog.The sample has excluded all low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) whose central surface brightness in B band (μ0(B)) fainter than 22.5 mag arcsec-2.It can be used as the counterparts sample to LSBGs.We observed their Hα and R band images by using the 2.16 m telescope at the Xinglong Observatory of the National Astronomical Observatories,Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC).The main goal of this work is to present the properties of those galaxies,together with Hαflux and star formation-,gas-,stellar mass-surface density.In addition,we confirm the correlations among HI content,stellar mass and star formation in ALFALFA galaxies.The HI mass increases with stellar mass,and the slope slows down at the higher stellar mass.The overall trend was that the specific star formation rate (s SFR) decreases with stellar mass,and the sSFR dropped sharply when the stellar mass is close to 1010.3~1010.5M⊙.The weak correlation between SFR/MHIand MHIimplies the HI contribute little to star formation.Our sample,which are mostly star-forming galaxies,follows the revisited Kennicutt-Schmidt law as well as the Kennicutt-Schmidt law.

Star formation properties in barred galaxies (SFB) Ⅱ. NGC 2903 and NGC 7080

Stellar bars are important for the secular evolution of disk galaxies because they can drive gas into the galactic central regions. To investigate the star formation properties in barred galaxies, we presented a multi-wavelength study of two barred galaxies： NGC 2903 and NGC 7080. We performed the three-component bulge-diskbar decomposition using the 3.6 μm images, and identified the bulges in the two galaxies as pseudobulges. Based on the narrowband Hα images, the star formation clumps were identified and analyzed. The clumps in the bulge regions have the highest surface densities of star formation rates in both galaxies, while the star formation activities in the bar of NGC 2903 are more intense than those in the bar of NGC 7080. Finally, we compared our results with the scenario of bar-driven secular evolution in previous studies, and discussed the possible evolutionary stages of the two galaxies.

What is the right way to quench star formation in semi-analytic models of galaxy formation?

Semi-analytic models of galaxy formation are powerful tools to study the evolution of a galaxy population in a cosmological context. However, most models overpredict the number of low- mass galaxies at high redshifts and the colors of model galaxies are not right in the sense that low-mass satellite galaxies are too red and centrals are too blue. The recent version of the L-Galaxies model by Henriques et al. （H15） is a step forward to solve these problems by reproducing the evolution of stellar mass function and the overall fraction of red galaxies. In this paper we compare the two model predictions of L-Galaxies （the other is Guo et al., G13） to SDSS data in detail. We find that in the H15 model the red fraction of central galaxies now agrees with the data due to their implementation of strong AGN feedback, but the stellar mass of centrals in massive halos is now slightly lower than what is indicated by the data. For satellite galaxies, the red fraction of low-mass galaxies （log M./M~ 〈 10） also agrees with the data, but the color of massive satellites （10 〈 logM,/M~ 〈 11） is slightly bluer. The correct color of centrals and the bluer color of massive satellites indicate that quenching in massive satellites is not strong enough. We also find that there are too many red spirals and less bulge-dominated galaxies in both H15 and G13 models. Our results suggest that additional mechanisms, such as more minor mergers or disk instability, are needed to slightly increase the stellar mass of the central galaxy in massive galaxies, mainly in the bulge component, and bulge dominated galaxies will be quenched not only by minor mergers, but also by some other mechanisms.

Star Formation in Self-Gravitating Molecular Cloud: The Critical Mass and the Core Accretion Rate

Understanding how stars form in molecular clouds is one of the ongoing research areas in astrophysics. Star formation is the fundamental process to which our current understanding remains incomplete due to the complexity of the physics that drives their formation within molecular clouds. In this article theoretical modelling of the lowest possible mass of the cloud needed for collapse and the core accretion rate has been presented for the molecular cloud collapsing under its gravity. In many of previous studies the critical mass of star forming cloud under its gravity has been modelled using kinetic energy and gravitational potential energy. However, we test the effect of thermodynamic efficiency factor together with other physical processes in describing the critical mass, and controlling or triggering the rate of mass falling onto the central core. Assuming that, the ratio of radiation luminosity to gravitational energy released per unit time of the collapsing MC is less than unity. Following this conceptual framework we have formulated the critical mass and the core accretion rate of the self-gravitating molecular cloud.

Investigation of star formation toward the Sharpless 155 H II region

We present a comprehensive study of star formation toward the H II re- gion Sharpless 155 （$155）. Star-formation activities therein were investigated based on multi-wavelength data from optical to the far-infrared. The surface density distri- bution of selected 2MASS sources toward S 155 indicates the existence of a compact cluster, which is spatially consistent with the position of the exciting source of the Htt region, HD 217086. A sample of more than 200 sources with excessive emission in the infrared were selected based on their 2MASS color indices. The spatial distri- bution of the sample sources reveals the existence of three young subclusters in this region, among which subcluster A is spatially coincident with the bright rim of the H II region. In addition, photometric data from the WISE survey were used to identify and classify young stellar objects （YSOs）. To further explore the evolutionary stages of the candidate YSOs, we fit the spectral energy distributions of 44 sources, which led to the identification of 14 Class I, 27 Class II and 3 Class Ⅲ YSOs. The spatial distribu- tion of the classified YSOs at different evolutionary stages presents a spatiotemporal gradient, which is consistent with a scenario of sequential star formation. On the other hand, Herschel PACS observations toward the interface between S 155 and the ambi- ent molecular cloud disclose an arc-shaped dust layer, the origin of which could be attributed to the UV dissipation from early type stars, e.g. HD 217061, in S155. Four dusty cores were revealed by the Herschel data, which hints at new generations of star formation.

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.

The Effect of AGN and SNe Feedback on Star Formation,Reionization and the Near Infrared Background

Feedback from supernovae （SNe） and from active galactic nuclei （AGN） accom- panies the history of star formation and galaxy evolution. We present an analytic model to explain how and when the SNe and AGN exert their feedback effects on the star formation and galaxy evolution processes. By using SNe and AGN kinetic feedback mechanisms based on the Lambda Cold Dark Matter （LCDM） model, we explore how these feedback mecha- nisms affect the star formation history （SFH）, the Near-Infrared Background （NIRB） flux and the cosmological reionization. We find the values of the feedback strengths, εAGN = 1.0 -0.03^＋0.5 and εSN = 0.04 -0.02^＋0.02, can provide a reasonable explanation of most of the observational resuits, and that the AGN feedback effect on star formation history is quite different from the SNe feedback at high redshifts. Our conclusions manifest quantitatively that these feedback effects decrease star formation rate density （SFRD） and the NIRB flux （in 1.4 - 4.0 μm）, and postpone the time of completion of the cosmological reionization.

The Role of Magnetic Fields in Triggered Star Formation of RCW 120

We report on the near-infrared polarimetric observations of RCW 120 with the 1.4 m IRSF telescope.The starlight polarization of the background stars reveals for the first time the magnetic field of RCW 120.The global magnetic field of RCW 120 is along the direction of 20°,parallel to the Galactic plane.The field strength on the plane of the sky is 100 ± 26 μG.The magnetic field around the eastern shell shows evidence of compression by the H Ⅱ region.The external pressure(turbulent pressure+ magnetic pressure) and the gas density of the ambient cloud are minimum along the direction where RCW 120 breaks out,which explains the observed elongation of RCW 120.The dynamical age of RCW 120,depending on the magnetic field strength,is~1.6 Myr for field strength of100 μG,older than the hydrodynamic estimates.In direction perpendicular to the magnetic field,the density contrast of the western shell is greatly reduced by the strong magnetic field.The strong magnetic field in general reduces the efficiency of triggered star formation,in comparison with the hydrodynamic estimates.Triggered star formation via the "collect and collapse" mechanism could occur in the direction along the magnetic field.Core formation efficiency(CFE) is found to be higher in the southern and eastern shells of RCW 120 than in the infrared dark cloud receiving little influence from the H Ⅱ region,suggesting increase in the CFE related to triggering from ionization feedback.

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.

Disks and outflows in the S255IR area of high mass star formation from ALMA observations

We describe the general structure of the well known S255IR high mass star forming region, as revealed by our recent ALMA observations. The data indicate a physical relation exists between the major clumps SMA1 and SMA2. The driving source of the extended high velocity, well collimated bipolar outflow, is not the most pronounced disk-like SMA1 clump harboring a 20M⊙ young star （S255 NIRS3）, as was assumed earlier. Apparently, it is the less evolved SMA2 clump, which drives the outflow and contains a compact rotating structure （probably a disk）. At the same time, the SMA 1 clump drives another outflow, with a larger opening angle. The molecular line data do not show an outflow from the SMA3 clump （NIRS 1）, which was suggested by IR studies of this region.

Sequential clustering of star formations in IC 1396

We present a comprehensive study of the H II region IC 1396 and its star forming activity, in which multi-wavelength data ranging from the optical to the near- and far-infrared were employed. The surface density distribution of all the 2MASS sources with a certain detection toward IC 1396 indicates the existence of a compact cluster spatially consistent with the position of the exciting source of the H II region, HD 206267. The spatial distribution of the sources with excessive infrared emission, selected based on archived 2MASS data, reveals the existence of four sub-clusters in this region. One is associated with the open cluster Trumpler 37. The other three are found to be spatially coincident with the bright rims of the H II region. All the sources with excessive emission in the near infrared are cross-identified with AKARI IRC data. An analysis of the spectral energy distributions （SEDs） of the resultant sample leads to the identification of eight CLASS I, 15 CLASS II and 15 CLASS IH sources in IC 1396. Optical identification of the sample sources with R magnitudes brighter than 17 mag corroborates the results from the SED analysis. Based on the spatial distribution of the infrared young stellar objects at different evolutionary stages, the surrounding sub-clusters located in the bright rims are believed to be younger than the central one. This is consistent with a scenario of sequential star formation in this region. Imaging data of a dark patch in IC 1396 by Herschel SPIRE, on the other hand, indicate the presence of two far-infrared cores in LDN 1111, which are likely to be a new generation of protostellar objects in formation. So we infer that the star formation process in this H II region was not continuous but rather episodic.

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.

Toward a stellar population catalog in the Kilo Degree Survey:The impact of stellar recipes on stellar masses and star formation rates

The Kilo Degree Survey(Ki DS)is currently the only sky survey providing optical(ugri)plus near-infrared(NIR,ZY H JKS)seeing matched photometry over an area larger than 1000 deg2.This is obtained by incorporating the NIR data from the VISTA Kilo Degree Infrared Galaxy(VIKING)survey,covering the same Ki DS footprint.As such,the Ki DS multi-wavelength photometry represents a unique dataset to test the ability of stellar population models to return robust photometric stellar mass(M_(*))and star-formation rate(SFR)estimates.Here we use a spectroscopic sample of galaxies for which we possess ugri ZY JHK_(s)“gaussianized”magnitudes from Ki DS data release 4.We fit the spectral energy distribution from the 9-band photometry using:(1)three different popular libraries of stellar population templates,(2)single burst,simple and delayed exponential star-formation history models,and(3)a wide range of priors on age and metallicity.As template fitting codes we use two popular softwares:Le Phare and CIGALE.We investigate the variance of the stellar masses and the star-formation rates from the different combinations of templates,star formation recipes and codes to assess the stability of these estimates and define some“robust”median quantities to be included in the upcoming Ki DS data releases.As a science validation test,we derive the mass function,the star formation rate function,and the SFR-M_(*)relation for a low-redshift(z<0.5)sample of galaxies,that result in excellent agreement with previous literature data.The final catalog,containing~290000 galaxies with redshift 0.01<z<0.9,is made publicly available.

Formation of Superthin Galaxies in IllustrisTNG

Superthin galaxies are observed to have stellar disks with extremely small minor-to-major axis ratios.In this work,we investigate the formation of superthin galaxies in the TNG100 simulation.We trace the merger history and investigate the evolution of galaxy properties of a selected sample of superthin galaxies and a control sample of galaxies that share the same joint probability distribution in the stellar-mass and color diagram.Through making comparisons between the two galaxy samples,we find that present-day superthin galaxies had similar morphologies as the control sample counterparts at higher redshifts,but have developed extended flat“superthin”morphologies since z~1.During this latter evolution stage,superthin galaxies undergo an overwhelmingly higher frequency of prograde mergers(with orbit-spin angleθ_(orb)≤40°).Accordingly the spins of their dark matter halos have grown significantly and become noticeably higher than those of their normal disk counterparts.This further results in the buildup of their stellar disks at larger distances much beyond the regimes of normal disk galaxies.We also discuss the formation scenario of those superthin galaxies that live in larger dark matter halos as satellite galaxies therein.

Unveiling the Initial Conditions of Open Star Cluster Formation

Open clusters(OCs)are infrequent survivors of embedded clusters gestated in molecular clouds.Up to now,little is known about the initial conditions for the formation of OCs.Here,we studied this issue using high-precision astrometric parameters provided by Gaia data release 3.The statistics show that the peculiar motion velocities of OCs vary slightly from infancy to old age,providing a remarkable opportunity to use OCs to trace their progenitors.Adopting a dynamical method,we derived the masses of the progenitor clumps where OCs were born,which have statistical characteristics comparable to previously known results for clumps observed in the Galaxy.Moreover,the masses of the progenitor clumps of OCs indicate they should be capable of gestating massive O-type stars.In fact,after inspecting the observed OCs and O-type stars,we found that there are many O-type stars in OCs.The destructive stellar feedback from O-type stars may disintegrate the vast majority of embedded clusters,and only those sufficiently dense ones can survive as OCs.