Physics
Scientific paper
May 1976
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1976apj...205..786b&link_type=abstract
Astrophysical Journal, vol. 205, May 1, 1976, pt. 1, p. 786-797.
Physics
41
Carbon Monoxide, Cloud Physics, Interstellar Gas, Molecular Spectra, Stellar Evolution, Graphs (Charts), Kinematics, Radial Velocity, Spiral Galaxies
Scientific paper
The kinematics of galactic CO clouds is investigated, based on a survey in which the 115-GHz spectral line of CO was observed at each degree of galactic longitude from 30 to 60 deg along the galactic equator. The radial velocity of the terminal portion of the CO profile is compared with that of the 21-cm line of H I. Assuming that the CO kinematics is the same as that of H I, velocity differences are interpreted as distance displacements along the line of sight in the framework of gas-kinematic models involving pure circular rotation, linear density waves, and two-armed spiral shocks. It is shown that CO is not found exclusively in the spiral pattern or in any organized structure displaced from it. The CO velocities are then compared with those of stars whose orbits are perturbed by the gravitational potential in the spiral arms. Very close agreement is found between the CO terminal velocities and the radial velocities of stars whose ages are less than 30 million years. It is suggested that this age may correspond with a time required for a star cluster to drive out the CO which existed in the interstellar medium from which the cluster formed.
Bash Frank N.
Peters William L.
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