The details of the physical process through which high-mass stars form remains nearly as much of a mystery now as it was when the Parkes radio telescope commenced operation. The energy output from high-mass stars influence, or directly drive many important processes in the evolution of galaxies and so understanding in detail when and how they form is important for a broad range of fields of astrophysics. Interstellar masers are one of the most readily observed signposts of regions where young high-mass stars have formed. We have recently made great progress towards using the different maser species and transitions to construct a maser-based evolutionary timeline for high-mass star formation. Here we give an overview of this work, highlighting the particular contribution that past and on-going observations with the Parkes 64m radio telescope have made to this area.
We recently proposed that the star-forming potential of dense molecular clouds in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ, i.e. the central few 100 pc) of the Milky Way is linked to their orbital dynamics, potentially giving rise to an absolute-time sequence of star-forming clouds. In this paper, we present an orbital model for the gas stream(s) observed in the CMZ. The model is obtained by integrating orbits in the observed gravitational potential and represents a good fit to the distribution of dense gas, reproducing all of its key properties. The orbit is also consistent with observational constrai…
The time-scales associated with the various stages of the star formation process remain poorly constrained. This includes the earliest phases of star formation, during which molecular clouds condense out of the atomic interstellar medium. We present the first in a series of papers with the ultimate goal of compiling the first multi-tracer timeline of star formation, through a comprehensive set of evolutionary phases from atomic gas clouds to unembedded young stellar populations. In this paper, we present an empirical determination of the lifetime of atomic clouds using the Uncertainty Principl…
The time-scales associated with various stages of the star formation process represent major unknowns in our understanding of galactic evolution, as well as of star and planet formation. This is the second paper in a series aiming to establish a multi-tracer time-line of star formation in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), focusing on the lifecycle of molecular clouds. We use a statistical method to determine a molecular cloud lifetime in the LMC of $t_{\text{CO}}=11.8^{+2.7}_{-2.2}$ Myr. This short time-scale is similar to the cloud dynamical time, and suggests that molecular clouds in the LMC…
Context: In cold and dense gas prior to the formation of young stellar objects, heavy molecular species (including CO) are accreted onto dust grains. Under these conditions H$_3^+$ and its deuterated isotopologues become more abundant, enhancing the deuterium fraction of molecules such as N$_2$H$^+$ that are formed via ion-neutral reactions. Because this process is extremely temperature sensitive, the abundance of these species is likely linked to the evolutionary stage of the source. Aims: We investigate how the abundances of o-H$_2$D$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$ vary with evolution in high-mass clumps…
ATLASGAL is a 870-mircon dust survey of 420 square degrees of the inner Galactic plane and has been used to identify ~10 000 dense molecular clumps. Dedicated follow-up observations and complementary surveys are used to characterise the physical properties of these clumps, map their Galactic distribution and investigate the evolutionary sequence for high-mass star formation. The analysis of the ATLASGAL data is ongoing: we present an up-to-date version of the catalogue. We have classified 5007 clumps into four evolutionary stages (quiescent, protostellar, young stellar objects and HII regions)…
We present near infrared imaging and integral field spectroscopy of the centre of the dusty luminous infrared galaxy merger MCG+08-11-002, taken using the Near InfraRed Camera 2 (NIRC2) and the OH-Suppressing InfraRed Imaging Spectrograph (OSIRIS) on Keck II. We achieve a spatial resolution of ~25 pc in the K band, allowing us to resolve 41 star clusters in the NIRC2 images. We calculate the ages of 22/25 star clusters within the OSIRIS field using the equivalent widths of the CO 2.3$μ$m absorption feature and the Br$γ$ nebular emission line. The star cluster age distribution has a clear peak …
The Role of Environment in Shaping the Assembly Timelines of Massive Quiescent Galaxies at Cosmic Noon
ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D)（ARC三维全天空天体物理学卓越中心）；INAF, Astrophysics and Space Science Observatory Bologna（意大利国家天体物理研究所博洛尼亚天文台）；Cavendish Laboratory - Astrophysics Group, University of Cambridge（剑桥大学卡文迪许实验室）；Institute for Computational & Data Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学计算与数据科学研究所）；Institute for Gravitation and the Cosmos, The Pennsylvania State University（宾夕法尼亚州立大学引力与宇宙研究所）；Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile（智利大学天文学系）；Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Australian National University（澳大利亚国立大学天文与天体物理研究学院）；Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna（博洛尼亚大学物理与天文学系）
We analyzed both HCN J=1-0 and HNC J=1-0 line profiles to study the inflow motions in different evolutionary stages of massive star formation: 54 infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), 69 high-mass protostellar object (HMPOs), and 54 ultra-compact HII regions (UCHIIs). The inflow asymmetry in HCN spectra seems to be prevalent throughout all the three evolutionary phases, with IRDCs showing the largest excess in blue profile. In the case of HNC spectra, the prevalence of blue sources does not appear, excepting for IRDCs. We suggest that this line is not appropriate to trace inflow motion in evolved stag…
The cloud-scale physics of star formation and feedback represent the main uncertainty in galaxy formation studies. Progress is hampered by the limited empirical constraints outside the restricted environment of the Local Group. In particular, the poorly-quantified time evolution of the molecular cloud lifecycle, star formation, and feedback obstructs robust predictions on the scales smaller than the disc scale height that are resolved in modern galaxy formation simulations. We present a new statistical method to derive the evolutionary timeline of molecular clouds and star-forming regions. By …
It remains a major challenge to derive a theory of cloud-scale ($\lesssim100$ pc) star formation and feedback, describing how galaxies convert gas into stars as a function of the galactic environment. Progress has been hampered by a lack of robust empirical constraints on the giant molecular cloud (GMC) lifecycle. We address this problem by systematically applying a new statistical method for measuring the evolutionary timeline of the GMC lifecycle, star formation, and feedback to a sample of nine nearby disc galaxies, observed as part of the PHANGS-ALMA survey. We measure the spatially-resolv…
The role of massive stars in the turbulent infancy of Galactic globular clusters: Feedback on the intracluster medium, and detailed timeline
一个重大的范式转变最近彻底改变了我们对球状星团（GC）的看法，长期以来，这些球状星团被认为是由同质物质产生的同时代恒星组成的简单系统。事实上，用8- 10米级望远镜对GC长寿低质量恒星进行的详细丰度研究，以及用HST对银河系GC进行的高精度测光，已经为单个GC中存在多个恒星星族提供了令人信服的线索。这些恒星亚群可以通过它们不同的化学性质（更准确地说，是通过从碳到铝的轻元素丰度的差异，见《布拉加利亚》，本卷）和颜色-星等图中多峰序列的出现（见《皮奥托》，本卷）来识别。这严重影响了我们对GC早期演化的理解，特别是大质量恒星在塑造星团内介质（ICM）和诱导次级恒星形成中可能发挥的作用。在这里，我们总结了详细的时间轴，我们最近提出的第一个40个百万年的典型GC的生命周期后，我们所谓的“快速旋转的大质量恒星的情况”（FRMS，Decressin等，2007年b）的一般思想，并考虑到星际气泡的动力学产生的恒星风和超新星。更多细节可参见Krause et al.（2012，2013）。
DESI Interacting Dwarfs Survey: Multiple Evolutionary Channels of Dwarf Galaxies Driven by Major Dwarf Interactions
Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma（霍默·L·道奇物理与天文学系，俄克拉荷马大学）；Centre for Astrophysics Research, University of Hertfordshire（天体物理学研究中心，赫特福德大学）
The discovery of quasar J1342+0928 (z=7.54) reinforces the time compression problem associated with the premature formation of structure in LCDM. Adopting the Planck parameters, we see this quasar barely 690 Myr after the big bang, no more than several hundred Myr after the transition from Pop III to Pop II star formation. Yet conventional astrophysics would tell us that a 10 solar-mass seed, created by a Pop II/III supernova, should have taken at least 820 Myr to grow via Eddington-limited accretion. This failure by LCDM constitutes one of its most serious challenges, requiring exotic `fixes'…
What role does Galactic structure play in star formation? We have used the Herschel Hi-GAL compact-clump catalogue to examine trends in evolutionary stage over large spatial scales in the inner Galaxy. We examine the relationship between the fraction of clumps with embedded star formation (the star-forming fraction, or SFF) and other measures of star-formation activity. Based on a positive correlation between SFF and evolutionary indicators such as the luminosity-to-mass ratio, we assert that the SFF principally traces the average evolutionary state of a sample and must depend on the local fra…
Both theory and observations suggest that outflows driven by an active central supermassive black hole (SMBH) has a feedback effect on shaping the global properties of the host galaxy. However, whether feedback from the outflow is effective, and if so, whether it is positive or negative, has long been controversial. Here, using the latest catalog from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), we use the flux ratio of the [O II] to [Ne V] emission lines as a proxy to compare the star formation rate (SFR) in the hosts of quasars with different types of broad absorption lines (BALs): low-ionization (L…
G10.21-0.31 is a 70 $μ$m-dark high-mass starless core ($M>300$ $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$ within $r<0.15$ pc) identified in $Spitzer$, $Herschel$, and APEX continuum surveys, and is believed to harbor the initial stages of high-mass star formation. We present ALMA and SMA observations to resolve the internal structure of this promising high-mass starless core. Sensitive high-resolution ALMA 1.3 mm dust continuum emission reveals three cores of mass ranging 11-18 $\mathrm{M_{\odot}}$, characterized by a turbulent fragmentation. Core 1, 2, and 3 represent a coherent evolution at three different evolut…
The chemical and physical evolution of starless and pre-stellar cores are of paramount importance to understanding the process of star formation. The Taurus Molecular Cloud cores TMC 1-C and TMC 1-CP share similar initial conditions and provide an excellent opportunity to understand the evolution of the pre-stellar core phase. We investigated the evolutionary stage of starless cores based on observations towards the prototypical dark cores TMC 1-C and TMC 1-CP, mapping them in the CS $3\rightarrow 2$, C$^{34}$S $3\rightarrow 2$, $^{13}$CS $2\rightarrow 1$, DCN $1\rightarrow 0$, DCN $2\rightarr…
We investigate the evolutionary connection between local IR-bright galaxies ($\log L_{\rm IR}\ge 11.4\,L_\odot$) and quasars. We use high angular resolution ($\sim$ 0.3-0.4 arcsec $\sim$ few hundred parsecs) $8-13\,μ$m ground-based spectroscopy to disentangle the AGN mid-IR properties from those of star formation. The comparison between the nuclear $11.3\,μ$m PAH feature emission and that measured with Spitzer/IRS indicates that the star formation is extended over a few kpc in the IR-bright galaxies. The AGN contribution to the total IR luminosity of IR-bright galaxies is lower than in quasars…
The intermediate results of the ongoing study of deep samples of ~200 galaxies residing in nearby voids, are presented. Their properties are probed via optical spectroscopy, ugri surface photometry, and HI 21-cm line measurements, with emphasis on their evolutionary status. We derive directly the hydrogen mass M(HI), the ratio M(HI)/L_B and the evolutionary parameter gas-phase O/H. Their luminosities and integrated colours are used to derive stellar mass M(*) and the second evolutionary parameter -- gas mass-fraction f_g. The colours of the outer parts, typically representative of the galaxy o…
Specific star formation rates in the $M_{\rm bh}$-$M_{\rm *,sph}$ diagram and the evolutionary pathways of galaxies across the sSFR-$M_{\rm *}$ diagram
Aims. We investigate the role of selective dissociation in the process of star formation by comparing the physical parameters of protostellar-prestellar cores and the distinct regions with the CO isotope distributions in photodissociation regions. We seek to understand whether there is a better connection between the evolutionary age of star forming regions and the effect of selective dissociation Methods. Wide-field observations of the $\rm ^{12}CO$, $\rm ^{13}CO$, and $\rm C^{18}O$ ( J = 1 - 0) emission lines are used to study the ongoing star formation activity in the Aquila molecular regio…
Identifying Evolutionary Stages of Molecular Clumps through Unsupervised and Supervised Machine Learning
Institute of Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院天文研究所）；Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin（叶利钦总统乌拉尔联邦大学）；Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences（俄罗斯科学院太空研究所）
Contrasting evolutionary pathways of fast- and slow-rotating galaxies in the green valley
INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera（意大利国家天体物理研究所布雷拉天文台）；INAF - Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte（意大利国家天体物理研究所卡波迪蒙特天文台）；Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), CSIC-INTA（西班牙国家科学技术研究委员会-国家航空技术研究所天体生物学中心）
The ALMA-QUARKS Survey. IV. Core Mass Function and Evolutionary Trends in Core Formation Efficiency and Chemistry
State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院上海天文台射电天文与技术国家重点实验室）；Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie（马克斯·普朗克天文学研究所）；Chinese Academy of Sciences South America Center for Astronomy, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院国家天文台拉美天文中心）；Departamento de Astronomía, Universidad de Chile（智利大学天文学系）；Department of Astronomy, School of Science, The University of Tokyo（东京大学理学部天文学科）；Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute（韩国天文与空间科学研究院）
We investigate the properties of the stellar populations of model galaxies as a function of galaxy evolutionary history and angular momentum content. We use the new semi-analytic model presented in Tonini et al. (2016). This new model follows the angular momentum evolution of gas and stars, providing the base for a new star formation recipe, and treatment of the effects of mergers that depends on the central galaxy dynamical structure. We find that the new recipes have the effect of boosting the efficiency of the baryonic cycle in producing and recycling metals, as well as preventing minor mer…
Filaments are key for star formation models. As part of the study carried out by the Herschel GCC Programme, here we study the filament properties presented in GCC.VII in context with theoretical models of filament formation and evolution. A conservative sample of filaments at a distance D<500pc was extracted with the Getfilaments algorithm. Their physical structure was quantified according to two main components: the central (Gaussian) region (core component), and the power-law like region dominating the filament column density profile at larger radii (wing component). The properties and beha…
(Abridged) Understanding the details of the formation process of massive (i.e. M<8-10M$_\odot$) stars is a long-standing problem in astrophysics. [...] We present a method to derive accurate timescales of the different evolutionary phases of the high-mass star formation process. We model a representative number of massive clumps of the ATLASGAL-TOP100 sample which cover all the evolutionary stages. The models describe an isothermal collapse and the subsequent warm-up phase, for which we follow their chemical evolution. The timescale of each phase is derived by comparing the results of the mode…
The evolutionary classification of massive clumps that are candidate progenitors of high-mass young stars and clusters relies on a variety of independent diagnostics based on observables from the near-infrared to the radio. A promising evolutionary indicator for massive and dense cluster-progenitor clumps is the L/M ratio between the bolometric luminosity and the mass of the clumps. With the aim of providing a quantitative calibration for this indicator we used SEPIA/APEX to obtain CH3C2H(12-11) observations, that is an excellent thermometer molecule probing densities > 10^5 cm^-3 , toward 51 …
We performed a survey in the SiO $J=5\rightarrow4$ line toward a sample of 199 Galactic massive star-forming regions at different evolutionary stages with the SMT 10 m and CSO 10.4 m telescopes. The sample consists of 44 infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), 86 protostellar candidates, and 69 young \HII\ regions. We detected SiO $J=5\rightarrow4$ line emission in 102 sources, with a detection rate of 57\%, 37\%, and 65\% for IRDCs, protostellar candidates, and young \HII\ regions, respectively. We find both broad line with Full Widths at Zero Power (FWZP) $>$ 20 \kms and narrow line emissons of SiO in…
Although chemical models predict that the deuterium fractionation in N$_2$H$^+$ is a good evolutionary tracer in the star formation process, the fractionation of nitrogen is still a poorly understood process. Recent models have questioned the similar evolutionary trend expected for the two fractionation mechanisms in N$_2$H$^+$, based on a classical scenario in which ion-neutral reactions occurring in cold gas should have caused an enhancement of the abundance of N$_2$D$^+$, $^{15}$NNH$^+$, and N$^{15}$NH$^+$. In the framework of the ASAI IRAM-30m large program, we have investigated the fracti…
S2D2: Small-scale Significant substructure DBSCAN Detection II. Tracing episodes and gradients of star formation activity
Universidad Internacional de Valencia (VIU)（瓦伦西亚国际大学）；Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IPAG（格勒诺布尔阿尔卑斯大学、法国国家科学研究中心、IPAG）；Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS（波尔多大学天体物理实验室、波尔多大学、法国国家科学研究中心）
This review examines the state-of-the-art knowledge of high-mass star and massive cluster formation, gained from ambitious observational surveys, which acknowledge the multi-scale characteristics of these processes. After a brief overview of theoretical models and main open issues, we present observational searches for the evolutionary phases of high-mass star formation, first among high-luminosity sources and more recently among young massive protostars and the elusive high-mass prestellar cores. We then introduce the most likely evolutionary scenario for high-mass star formation, which empha…
