The mass of molecular hydrogen in our Galaxy

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Galactic Mass, Hydrogen, Milky Way Galaxy, Molecular Clouds, Carbon Monoxide, Far Infrared Radiation, Mass Distribution, Virial Theorem

Scientific paper

Recent studies on the amount of molecular material present in the Galaxy are reviewed. Attention is given to (C-12)O surveys leading to large estimates of the H2 mass; it is noted however, that the application of the virial theorem in this case is not appropriate. The size-linewidth relation for giant molecular clouds is discussed, and it is shown that the previous estimates of molecular-cloud masses from this type of analyses are not accurate. A mass estimator based on the use of the observed far-infrared emission from the Galactic disk is considered, and it is concluded that, for the inner Galaxy, the mass of molecular hydrogen is about 60 percent of that of atomic hydrogen.

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