G333.2-0.4: Star Formation in a Turbulent Giant Molecular Cloud

Details G333.2-0.4: Star Formation in a Turbulent Giant Molecular Cloud G333.2-0.4: Star Formation in a Turbulent Giant Molecular Cloud

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50291s&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50291

Physics

Scientific paper

Most stars form in clusters of 100 or more members, in the vicinity of OB stars, and in very different conditions from those assumed by standard ambipolar diffusion models. The effect that the feedback from the OB stars has on the nearby gas is not known: it may trigger new stars, or it may disrupt the gas, preventing further star formation. Models disagree on the likely effects, but some testable predictions have been made, such that only low and medium mass stars may form in these conditions, and that injection of energy from protostellar flows at small scales is necessary to sustain star formation in a region. Recently it has been suggested that supersonic interstellar turbulence is critical for promoting the density enhancements needed to form stars and for preventing large scale collapse of giant molecular clouds (GMCs) into stars. As a result stars could form even in the envelopes of the GMCs at significant distances from the OB star clusters. Our group is studying the G333.2-0.4 GMC, both through radio observations of the molecular lines (from which we derive the density, temperature, velocity, and turbulence structures) and through analysis of the Spitzer GLIMPSE and MIPSGAL and 2MASS images (from which we determine the stellar population parameters). We have found 12 objects in the IRAC images that have the appearance of young stellar objects (YSOs), all lying at some distance from the central OB star clusters. Six objects almost surely have molecular hydrogen outflows from their IRAC 4.5 micron images and six are extremely red and probably quite luminous. We propose IRS spectral observations of these candidate YSOs, plus one molecular outflow source, to determine the spectral types and ages of the objects and their outflow characteristics. These observations will allow us to link the stellar and protostellar content to the turbulent properties of the molecular gas determined from the G333 multi-molecular line survey of the region.

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