Infrared Dark Clouds in the Inner Galaxy

Details Infrared Dark Clouds in the Inner Galaxy Infrared Dark Clouds in the Inner Galaxy

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3121k&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #3121

Physics

Scientific paper

We propose to determine the physical properties of a recently discovered population of Galactic objects, infrared-dark clouds (IRDCs), with IRAC, IRS, and MIPS measurements by the Spitzer Space Telescope. IRDCs comprise a selection of cold, dense clouds with such high column densities that they appear in absorption against the Galactic IR background. They exhibit a variety of the earliest phases of star formation in clouds that are often massive enough to be the precursors of star clusters and OB associations. We propose to obtain small maps with IRAC and MIPS to determine how the spatial extent of the IRDCs and the sharpness of the cloud edge depend on wavelength, and what are the extinction characteristics of the clouds. We will obtain low spectral resolution data from IRS which will determine what emission (e.g., fine-structure lines, UIR features) and absorption (e.g., silicates, water) features are present and measure the UV penetration into the IRDCs. We will also use MIPS observations in the SED mode to determine the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of the IRDCs. We will sample a variety of IRDC geometries, from globular to filamentary, as well as a small selection of near-infrared dark clouds and Bok globules to investigate the connection between infrared and optical dark clouds. These Spitzer data will enable us to determine the physical properties of this exciting class of objects and to place them in their proper context within the process of star formation.

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