Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL II -- The Central Molecular Zone

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Galaxy Astrophysics

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Accepted for publication in A&A, 20 pages, 10 figures, 3 tables

Scientific paper

10.1051/0004-6361/201117857

We present 5--38 $\mu$m spectroscopic observations of a sample of 68 ISOGAL sources with unknown natures, taken with the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph. Based on the characteristics and the slope of their spectra we classified the sources as young or late-type evolved objects. These sources were selected to test selection criteria based on the ISOGAL [7]--[15] color and the spatial extent parameter $\sigma_{\rm 15}$. We revised these criteria until they reliably distinguished between young and late-type evolved objects and then applied them to all ISOGAL sources in the central molecular zone (CMZ), resulting in the selection of 485 sources believed to be young. Furthermore, we added 656 Midcourse Space Experiment (MSX) sources to the CMZ sample that fulfilled $F_{\rm E}/F_{\rm D} > 2$ with $F{\rm D}$ and $F_{\rm E}$ being the flux densities in the D (15 $\mu$m) and E (21 $\mu$m) bands. After obtaining $\frac{L_{\rm bol}}{F_{\rm 15}}$ conversion factors, we calculated the bolometric luminosity, $L_{\rm bol}$, values for the CMZ sample and subsequently the masses of the sources. Applying a Kroupa initial mass function, we derived the total mass in young objects that has been formed over the last 1 Myr, resulting in an average star formation rate of 0.08 solar masses per year for the CMZ.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL II -- The Central Molecular Zone does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL II -- The Central Molecular Zone, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Recent star formation in the inner Galactic Bulge seen by ISOGAL II -- The Central Molecular Zone will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-219022

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.