Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21932702p&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #327.02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Scientific paper
We present first results from a 100-ks Chandra X-ray observation of the M17 SWex giant molecular cloud. M17 SWex is an infrared dark cloud (IRDC) resembling a flying dragon in Spitzer Space Telescope images. This IRDC is a very young but very active region of star formation, containing 200 intermediate-mass (2-8 Msun) young stellar objects (YSOs) plus a few massive YSOs and ultracompact H II regions. Our Chandra/ACIS image detected >850 X-ray point sources, spatially clustered along the IRDC filaments and many associated with embedded, intermediate-mass YSOs. This abundance of X-ray sources far exceeded expectations, given the extreme youth and high extinction (AV > 30 mag) of the region. Our preliminary results suggest that (1) M17 SWex is an even more active star-forming region than supposed, and/or (2) young, intermediate-mass, pre-main-sequence stars have surprisingly high X-ray luminosities. We have also found indications of diffuse, soft X-ray emission associated with the IRDC. The origins of this diffuse emission are mysterious.
M.S.P. is supported by an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship under award AST-0901646.
Orbin W.
Povich Matthew S.
Townsley Leisa Kay
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