Structure of molecular clouds. VI - The accuracy of the standard analysis

Details Structure of molecular clouds. VI - The accuracy of the standard analysis Structure of molecular clouds. VI - The accuracy of the standard analysis

Jan 1983

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1983a%26a...117...41s&link_type=abstract

Astronomy and Astrophysics, vol. 117, no. 1, Jan. 1983, p. 41-45. Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

14

Astronomical Models, Interstellar Chemistry, Molecular Clouds, Radiative Transfer, Stellar Evolution, Carbon Monoxide, Kinetic Energy, Optical Thickness, Thermodynamic Equilibrium

Scientific paper

The accuracy of the standard analysis of molecular clouds, where the temperature is derived from the (C-12)O 1-0 line under assumptions of local thermodynamic equilibrium and high optical thickness and the density and molecular abundances are obtained with the radiative transfer method of large velocity gradients (LVG) is studied. A standard analysis is performed on a set of calculated line profiles corresponding to error-free observation of a realistic model of molecular clouds with star formation (type IIb). It is found that the kinetic temperature derived under the assumptions of the standard analysis is only useful in the central parts of the cloud. H2 number densities derived from the 1-0 and 2-1 (C-13)O lines as well as from the 2-mm and 2-cm H2CO lines are shown to be highly unreliable due to observational errors in (C-13)O and the LVG analysis. The previously noted relation of a decreasing molecular abundance with an increasing H2 density is likewise noted to be an error introduced by the LVG analysis, observational errors, and statistical bias.

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