Dust is the usual minor component of the interstellar medium. Its dynamic role in the contraction of the diffuse gas into molecular clouds is commonly assumed to be negligible because of the small mass fraction, $f \simeq 0.01$. However, as shown in this study, the collective motion of dust grains with respect to the gas may considerably contribute to the destabilisation of the medium on scales $λ\lesssim λ_J$, where $λ_J$ is the Jeans length-scale. The linear perturbations of the uniform self-gravitating gas at rest are marginally stable at $λ\simeq λ_J$, but as soon as the drift of grains is taken into account, they begin growing at a rate approximately equal to $(f τ)^{1/3} t^{-1}_{ff}$, where $τ$ is the stopping time of grains expressed in units of the free fall time of the cloud, $t_{ff}$. The physical mechanism responsible for such a weak dependence of the growth rate on $f$ is the resonance of heavy sound waves stopped by the self-gravity of gas with weak gravitational attraction caused by perturbations of the dust fraction. Once there is stationary subsonic bulk drift of the dust, the growing gas-dust perturbations at $λ< λ_J$ become waves propagating with the drift velocity projected onto the wavevector. Their growth has a resonant nature as well and the growth rate is substantially larger than that of the recently discovered resonant instability of gas-dust mixture in the absence of self-gravity. The new instabilities can facilitate gravitational contraction of cold interstellar gas into clouds and additionally produce dusty domains of sub-Jeans size at different stages of molecular cloud formation and evolution.
Dust enables low-mass stars to form from low-metallicity gas by inducing fragmentation of clouds via the cooling by its thermal emission. Dust may, however, be evacuated from star-forming clouds due to radiation force from massive stars. We here study the condition for the dust evacuation by comparing the dust evacuation time with the time of cloud destruction due to either expansion of HII regions or supernovae. The cloud destruction time has weak dependence on the cloud radius, while the dust evacuation time becomes shorter for a cloud with the smaller radius. The dust evacuation thus occurs…
Aims: Highly resolved maps of the local Galactic dust are an important ingredient for sky emission models. In nearly the whole electromagnetic spectrum one can see imprints of dust, many of which originate from dust clouds within 300pc. Having a detailed 3D reconstruction of these local dust clouds enables detailed studies, helps to quantify the impact on other observables and is a milestone necessary to enable larger reconstructions, as every sightline for more distant objects will pass through the local dust. Methods: To infer the dust density we use parallax and absorption estimates publish…
The properties of carbon stars in the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) and their total dust production rates are predicted by fitting their spectral energy distributions (SED) over pre-computed grids of spectra reprocessed by dust. The grids are calculated as a function of the stellar parameters by consistently following the growth for several dust species in their circumstellar envelopes, coupled with a stationary wind. Dust radiative transfer is computed taking as input the results of the dust growth calculations. The optical constants for amorphous carbon are selected in order to reproduce different…
The aim of this study is to examine dust dynamics on a large scale and investigate the coupling of dust with gas fluid in the star formation process. We propose a method for calculating the dust trajectory in a gravitationally collapsing cloud, where the dust grains are treated as Lagrangian particles and are assumed to be neutral. We perform the dust trajectory calculations in combination with non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics simulation. Our simulation shows that dust particles with a size of $\le 10\,{\rm μm}$ are coupled with gas in a star-forming cloud core. We investigate the time evolution…
The formation of compact dusty clouds in diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) has been recently proposed and studied by Tsytovich et al. (2014). In the present paper, an effect of the clouds on the rate of H$\to$H$_2$ transition in the ISM is examined. We discuss the mechanisms leading to the formation of the clouds and the creation of gaseous clumps around them, analyze the main processes determining the efficiency of the recombination of atomic hydrogen on dust grains, and estimate the expected enhancement of the global H$_2$ formation due to the presence of the clouds. In conclusion, we argue …
In this present analysis we investigate the dust properties associated with the different gas phases (including the ionized phase this time) of the LMC molecular clouds at 1$^{\prime}$ angular resolution (four times greater than a previous analysis) and with a larger spectral coverage range thanks to Herschel data. We also ensure the robustness of our results in the framework of various dust models. We performed a decomposition of the dust emission in the infrared (3.6 $\mic$ to 500 $\mic$) associated with the atomic, molecular, and ionized gas phases in the molecular clouds of the LMC. The re…
The path to understanding star formation processes begins with the study of the formation of molecular clouds. The outskirts of these clouds are characterized by low column densities that allow the penetration of ultraviolet radiation, resulting in a non-negligible ionization fraction and the charging of the small dust grains that are mixed with the gas; this diffuse phase is then coupled to the ambient magnetic field. Despite the general assumption that dust and gas are tightly correlated, several observational and theoretical studies have reported variations in the dust-to-gas ratio toward d…
We present a study on the molecular gas towards a bright-rimmed cloud located to the north of the infrared dust bubble N30. Using the emission from the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J=3-2 line, together with infrared and radio continuum data, we characterized the bubble and the related molecular cloud. In addition, we show an analysis of the behaviour of the abundance ratio 13CO/C18O towards the bright-rimmed cloud, and we search for clues on recent star-formation.
We study infrared emission of 17 isolated, diffuse clouds with masses of order solar masses, to test the hypothesis that grain property variations cause the apparently low gas-to-dust ratios that have been measured in those clouds. Maps of the clouds were constructed from WISE data and directly compared to the maps of dust optical depth from Planck. The mid-infrared emission per unit dust optical depth has a significant trend toward lower values at higher optical depths. The trend can be quantitatively explained by extinction of starlight within the clouds. The relative amounts of PAH and very…
Much progress has been made recently in the acceleration of $\sim10^{4}$\,K clouds to explain absorption-line measurements of the circumgalactic medium and the warm, atomic phase of galactic winds. However, the origin of the cold, molecular phase in galactic winds has received relatively little theoretical attention. Studies of the survival of $\sim10^{4}$\,K clouds suggest efficient radiative cooling may enable the survival of expelled material from galactic disks. Alternatively, gas colder than 10$^4$\,K may form within the outflow, including molecules if dust survives the acceleration proce…
Dust emission and extinction in the Orion OMC-3 cloud
University of Helsinki(赫尔辛基大学);Université de Toulouse, UPS-OMP, IRAP(图卢兹大学,UPS-OMP,IRAP);Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale(巴黎萨克雷大学,法国国家科学研究中心,空间天体物理研究所)
We present a high-sensitivity ($1σ<1.6~\mathrm{mJy~beam^{-1}}$) continuum observation in a 343 arcmin$^2$ area of the northeast region in the Small Magellanic Cloud at a wavelength of 1.1 mm, conducted using the AzTEC instrument on the ASTE telescope. In the observed region, we identified 20 objects by contouring $10σ$ emission. Through spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis using 1.1 mm, $Herschel$, and $Spitzer$ data, we estimated the gas masses of $5\times 10^3-7\times 10^4~\mathrm{M_\odot}$, assuming a gas-to-dust ratio of 1000. Dust temperature and the index of emissivity were also e…
We determine the time evolution of the dust particle size distribution during the collapse of a cloud core, accounting for both dust coagulation and dust fragmentation, to investigate the influence of dust growth on non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects.The density evolution of the collapsing core is given by a one-zone model. We assume two types of dust model: dust composed only of silicate (silicate dust) and dust with a surface covered by $\mathrm{H_{2}O}$ ice ($\mathrm{H_{2}O}$ ice dust). When only considering collisional coagulation, the non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic effects are not effec…
Swift Ultraviolet Survey of the Magellanic Clouds (SUMaC). I. Shape of the Ultraviolet Dust Extinction Law and Recent Star Formation History of the Small Magellanic Cloud
We report the first uniform and systematic study of dust and molecular gas in nearby molecular clouds. We use surveys of dust extinction and emission to determine the opacity and map the distribution of the dust within a dozen local clouds in order to derive a uniform set of basic cloud properties. We find: 1) the average dust opacity $\langleκ_{d,353}\rangle = 0.8\ {\rm cm^{2}\, g^{-1}}$ with variations of a factor of $\sim$ 2 between clouds, 2) cloud PDFs are exquisitely described by steeply falling power-laws with a narrow range of slope, and 3) a tight $M_{\rm GMC} \sim R_{\rm GMC}^2$ scal…
We present 3-D hydrodynamical models of the evolution of superbubbles powered by stellar winds and supernovae from young coeval massive star clusters within low metallicity ($Z = 0.02$Z$_{\odot}$), clumpy molecular clouds. We explore the initial stages of the superbubble evolution, including the occurrence of pair-instability and core-collapse supernovae. Our aim is to study the occurrence of dust grain growth within orbiting dusty clumps, and in the superbubble's swept-up supershell. We also aim to address the survival of dust grains produced by sequential supernovae. The model accounts for t…
From integral field data we extract the optical spectra of 20 shocked clouds in the supernova remnant N132D in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). Using self-consistent shock modelling, we derive the shock velocity, pre-shock cloud density and shock ram pressure in these clouds. We show that the [Fe X] and [Fe XIV] emission arises in faster, partially radiative shocks moving through the lower density gas near the periphery of the clouds. In these shocks dust has been effectively destroyed, while in the slower cloud shocks the dust destruction is incomplete until the recombination zone of the sho…
Clustering and dynamics of nano-sized particles (nano dust) is investigated using high-resolution ($1024^3$) simulations of compressible isothermal hydrodynamic turbulence, intended to mimic the conditions inside cold molecular clouds in the interstellar medium. Nano-sized grains may cluster in a turbulent flow (small-scale clustering), which increases the local grain density significantly. Together with the increased interaction rate due to turbulent motions, aggregation of interstellar nano-dust may be plausible.
Over the past decade, studies of dust in the Andromeda galaxy (M31) have shown radial variations in the dust emissivity index ($β$). Understanding the astrophysical reasons behind these radial variations may give clues about the chemical composition of dust grains, their physical structure, and the evolution of dust. We use $^{12}$CO(J=1-0) observations taken by the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy (CARMA) and dust maps derived from \textit{Herschel} images, both with an angular resolution of 8" and spatial resolution of 30 pc, to study variations in $β$ across an area of $\…
Dust grain dynamics in molecular clouds is regulated by its interplay with supersonic turbulent gas motions. The conditions under which dust grains decouple from the dynamics of gas remain poorly constrained. We first aim to investigate the critical dust grain size for dynamical decoupling, using both analytical predictions and numerical experiments. Second, we aim to set the range of validity of two fundamentally different numerical implementations for the evolution of dust and gas mixtures in turbulent molecular clouds. We carried out a suite of numerical experiments using two different sche…
We present a catalogue of Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) in M33, extracted from cold dust continuum emission. Our GMCs are identified by computing dendrograms. We measure the spatial distribution of these clouds, and characterise their dust properties. Combining these measured properties with CO(J=2-1) and 21cm HI data, we calculate the gas-to-dust ratio (GDR) of these clouds, and from this compute a total cloud mass. In total, we find 165 GMCs with cloud masses in the range of 10$^4$-10$^7$ M$_\odot$. We find that radially, $\log_{10}(\mathrm{GDR}) = -0.043(\pm0.038) \,\mathrm{R [kpc]} + 1.88(…
We study the relationship between molecular gas and dust in the California Molecular Cloud over an unprecedented dynamic range of cloud depth (Av = 3 - 60 magnitudes). We compare deep Herschel-based measurements of dust extinction with observations of the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J=2-1 lines on sub-parsec scales across the cloud. We directly measure the ratio of CO integrated intensity to dust extinction to derive the CO X-factor at over 1e5 independent locations in the cloud. Confirming an earlier study, we find that no single 12CO X-factor can characterize the molecular gas in the cold ( Tdust<2…
In our local Galactic neighborhood, molecular clouds are best studied using a combination of dust measurements, to determine robust masses, sizes and internal structures of the clouds, and molecular-line observations to determine cloud kinematics and chemistry. We present here the first results of a program designed to extend such studies to nearby galaxies beyond the Magellanic Clouds. Utilizing the wideband upgrade of the Submillimeter Array (SMA) at 230 GHz we have obtained the first continuum detections of the thermal dust emission on sub-GMC scales ($\sim$ 15 pc) within the Andromeda gala…
Context. High latitude molecular clouds (hereafter HLMCs) permit the study of interstellar gas dynamics and astrochemistry with good accuracy due to their proximity, generally clear lines of sight, and lack of internal star-forming activity which can heavily modify the physical context. MBM 40, one of the nearest HLMCs, has been extensively studied, making it a superb target to infer and study the dust-to-gas mixing ratio (DGMR). Aims. The mixing of dust and gas in the interstellar medium remains a fundamental issue to keep track of astrochemistry evolution and molecular abundances. Accounting…
We perform two-dimensional and three-dimensional simulations of cold, dense clouds, which are accelerated by radiation pressure on dust relative to a hot, diffuse background gas. We examine the relative effectiveness of acceleration by ultraviolet and infrared radiation fields, both independently and acting simultaneously on the same cloud. We study clouds that are optically thin to infrared emission but with varying ultraviolet optical depths. Consistent with previous work, we find relatively efficient acceleration and long cloud survival times when the infrared band flux dominates over the u…
Connecting the dusty dots: dust depletion and extinction of local interstellar clouds
University of Geneva(日内瓦大学);Wits Centre for Astrophysics, School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand(威特沃特斯兰德大学物理学院天体物理中心);European Southern Observatory(欧洲南方天文台);Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Centre de Recherche Astrophysique de Lyon UMR5574(里昂第一大学克洛德·贝尔纳大学,里昂天体物理研究中心UMR5574);French-Chilean Laboratory for Astronomy (FCLA), CNRS-IRL3386, U. de Chile(法智利天体物理实验室(FCLA),CNRS-IRL3386,智利大学);AURA for ESA, Space Telescope Science Institute(ESA支持的AURA,太空望远镜科学研究所)