The Cepheus Flare region consists of a group of dark cloud complexes that are currently active in star formation. The aim of this work is to estimate the motion of four clouds, L1147/1158, L1172/1174, L1228 and L1251 located at relatively high Galactic latitude (b $\gt$ 14$^{\circ}$) in the Cepheus Flare region. We study the relationship between the motion of the cloud with respect to the magnetic field and the clump orientations with respect to both the magnetic field and the motion. We estimated the motion of the molecular clouds using the proper motion and the distance estimates of the young stellar objects (YSOs) associated with them using the Gaia EDR3 data. By assuming that the YSOs are associated with the clouds and share the same velocity, the projected direction of motion of the clouds are estimated. We estimated a distance of 371$\pm$22 pc for L1228 and 340$\pm$ 7 pc for L1251 implying that all four complexes are located at almost the same distance. Assuming that both the clouds and YSOs are kinematically coupled, we estimated the projected direction of motion of the clouds using the proper motions of the YSOs. All the clouds in motion are making an offset of $\sim$ 30$^{\circ}$ with respect to the ambient magnetic fields except in L1172/1174 where the offset is $\sim$ 45$^{\circ}$. In L1147/1158, the starless clumps are found to be oriented predominantly parallel to the magnetic fields while prestellar clumps show random distribution. In L1172/1174, L1228 and L1251,the clumps are oriented randomly with respect to magnetic field. With respect to the motion of the clouds, there is a marginal trend that the starless clumps are oriented more parallel in L1147/1158 and L1172/1174. In L1228, the clumps major axis are oriented more randomly. In L1251, we find a bimodal trend in case of starless clumps.
We present Spitzer IRAC (~2 deg^2) and MIPS (~8 deg^2) observations of the Cepheus Flare which is associated with the Gould Belt, at an approximate distance of ~300 pc. Around 6500 sources are detected in all four IRAC bands, of which ~900 have MIPS 24 micron detections. We identify 133 YSO candidates using color-magnitude diagram techniques, a large number of the YSO candidates are associated with the NGC 7023 reflection nebula. Cross identifications were made with the Guide Star Catalog II and the IRAS Faint Source Catalog, and spectral energy distributions (SED) were constructed. SED modeli…
We present observations of the Cepheus Flare obtained as part of the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Gould Belt Legacy Survey (GBLS) with the SCUBA-2 instrument. We produce a catalogue of sources found by SCUBA-2, and separate these into starless cores and protostars. We determine masses and densities for each of our sources, using source temperatures determined by the Herschel Gould Belt Survey. We compare the properties of starless cores in four different molecular clouds: L1147/58, L1172/74, L1251 and L1228. We find that the core mass functions for each region typically show shallower-…
We present Herschel SPIRE and PACS maps of the Cepheus Flare clouds L1157, L1172, L1228, L1241, and L1251, observed by the Herschel Gould Belt Survey (HGBS) of nearby star-forming molecular clouds. Through modified blackbody fits to the SPIRE and PACS data, we determine typical cloud column densities of 0.5-1.0 $\times$ 10$^{21}$ cm$^{-2}$ and typical cloud temperatures of 14-15 K. Using the getsources identification algorithm, we extract 832 dense cores from the SPIRE and PACS data at 160-500 $μ$m. From placement in a mass vs. size diagram, we consider 303 to be candidate prestellar cores, an…
The presence of three more Herbig Ae/Be (HAeBe) stars in the Cepheus Flare within a 1.5$^{\circ}$ radius centered on HD 200775 suggests that star formation is prevalent in a wider region of the LDN 1147/1158, LDN 1172/1174, and LDN 1177 clouds. A number of young stellar objects (YSOs) are also found to be located toward these clouds. Various star formation studies indicate ongoing low-mass star formation inside this region. Sources associated with less near-infrared (IR) excess and less H-alpha emission raise the possibility that more low-mass YSOs, which were not identified in previous studie…
Context: Class II methanol masers at 6.7 GHz originate close to high-mass young stellar objects (HMYSOs). Their high sensitivity to local condition variations makes them a useful marker of the activity of the emerging massive stars. Aims: We aim to closely examine the variability of the 6.7 GHz methanol masers in Cep A HW2 using the new and archival single-dish and high-resolution Very-Long-Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) datasets. Methods: We monitored 6.7 GHz methanol masers towards the target between 2009 and 2021 using the Torun 32 m radio telescope, and analysed nine datasets of VLBI obser…
We report the detection of microwave emission lines from the hydrocarbon anion C6H- and its parent neutral C6H in the star-forming region L1251A (in Cepheus), and the pre-stellar core L1512 (in Auriga). The carbon-chain-bearing species C4H, HC3N, HC5N, HC7N and C3S are also detected in large abundances. The observations of L1251A constitute the first detections of anions and long-chain polyynes and cyanopolyynes (with more than 5 carbon atoms) in the Cepheus Flare star-forming region, and the first detection of anions in the vicinity of a protostar outside of the Taurus molecular cloud complex…
By observing radiation-affected gas in the Cepheus B molecular cloud we probe whether the sequential star formation in this source is triggered by the radiation from newly formed stars. We used the dual band receiver GREAT onboard SOFIA to map [C II] and CO 13--12 and 11--10 in Cep B and compared the spatial distribution and the spectral profiles with complementary ground-based data of low-$J$ transitions of CO isotopes, atomic carbon, and the radio continuum. The interaction of the radiation from the neighboring OB association creates a large photon-dominated region (PDR) at the surface of th…
Interstellar extinction is investigated in a 1.5 square degree area in the direction of the reflection nebula NGC 7023 at l = 104.1 deg, b = +14.2 deg. The study is based on photometric classification and the determination of interstellar extinctions and distances of 480 stars down to V = 16.5 mag from photometry in the Vilnius seven-color system published in Paper I (2008). The investigated area is divided into five smaller subareas with slightly different dependence of the extinction on distance. The distribution of reddened stars is in accordance with the presence of two dust clouds at 282 …
We present observations of three Class 0/I protostars (L1157-mm, CB230 IRS1, and L1165-SMM1) using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and observations of two (L1165-SMM1 and CB230 IRS1) with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). The VLA observations were taken at wavelengths of $λ= 7.3$ mm, 1.4 cm, 3.3 cm, 4.0 cm, and 6.5 cm with a best resolution of $\sim$0\farcs06 (18 AU) at 7.3 mm. The L1165-SMM1 CARMA observations were taken at $λ= 1.3$ mm with a best resolution of $\sim0\farcs3$ (100 AU), and the CB230 IRS1 observations were taken at $λ= 3.4$ mm with…
Magnetic field Topology and Star Formation in the Cepheus B Filamentary cloud under External Feedback
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati（印度科学教育研究所提鲁帕蒂分校）；Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali（印度科学教育研究所穆扎法拉布尔分校）；Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)（物理研究实验室）；Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI)（韩国天文学与空间科学研究院）；Institute for Advanced Study, Kyushu University（九州大学高等研究院）；Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Faculty of Science, Kyushu University（九州大学理学部地球行星科学系）；East Asian Observatory（东亚天文台）；Purple Mountain Observatory and Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台射电天文重点实验室）
The Cepheus B (CepB) molecular cloud and a portion of the nearby CepOB3b OB association, one of the most active regions of star formation within 1 kpc, have been observed with the IRAC detector on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. The goals are to study protoplanetary disk evolution and processes of sequential triggered star formation in the region. Out of ~400 pre-main sequence (PMS) stars selected with an earlier Chandra X-ray Observatory observation, 95% are identified with mid-infrared sources and most of these are classified as diskless or disk-bearing stars. The discovery of the additio…
The trigonometric parallax of IRAS 23385+6053 and physical properties of molecular clouds based on the VLBI astrometry
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Kagoshima University（鹿儿岛大学理工学研究科）；Curatorial division, Nagoya City Science Museum（名古屋市科学馆策展部）；Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University（名古屋大学理学研究科物理学科）；National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand (Public Organization)（泰国国家天文研究所）；Mizusawa VLBI Observatory, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan（日本国立天文台水泽VLBI观测站）；Astrobiology Center（天体生物学中心）；National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ), National Institutes of Natural Sciences (NINS)（日本国立天文台（NAOJ），国立自然科学研究院（NINS））
Evidence for the gravity-driven and magnetically-regularized gas flows feeding the massive protostellar cluster in Cepheus A
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Tirupati（印度科学教育研究所蒂鲁帕蒂分校）；Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali（印度科学教育研究所莫哈利分校）；Tsinghua University（清华大学）；Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México（墨西哥国立自治大学）；Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy & Astrophysics（中央研究院天文及天文物理研究所）；Physical Research Laboratory (PRL)（物理研究实验室）；East Asian Observatory（东亚天文台）；National Tsing Hua University（国立清华大学）
We show Akari data, Herschel data and data from the SCUBA2 camera on JCMT, of molecular clouds. We focus on pre-stellar cores within the clouds. We present Akari data of the L1147-1157 ring in Cepheus and show how the data indicate that the cores are being externally heated. We present SCUBA2 and Herschel data of the Ophiuchus region and show how the environment is also affecting core evolution in this region. We discuss the effects of the magnetic field in the Lupus I region, and how this lends support to a model for the formation and evolution of cores in filamentary molecular clouds.
The Polaris Flare cloud region contains a great deal of extended emission. It is at high declination and high Galactic latitude. It was previously seen strongly in IRAS Cirrus emission at 100 microns. We have detected it with both PACS and SPIRE on Herschel. We see filamentary and low-level structure. We identify the five densest cores within this structure. We present the results of a temperature, mass and density analysis of these cores. We compare their observed masses to their virial masses, and see that in all cases the observed masses lie close to the lower end of the range of estimated …
$^{13}$CO(J=2--1) and C$^{18}$O(J=2--1) observations of the molecular cloud G285.90+4.53 (Cloud~16) in the Carina Flare supershell (GSH287+04-17) with the APEX telescope are presented. With an algorithm DENDROFIND we identify 51 fragments and compute their sizes and masses. We discuss their mass spectrum and interpret it as being the result of the shell fragmentation process described by the pressure assisted gravitational instability - PAGI. We conclude that the explanation of the clump mass function needs a combination of gravity with pressure external to the shell.
We present new results on the young star population of the Lynds~1188 molecular cloud, associated with the Cepheus Bubble, a giant interstellar shell around the association Cep~OB\,2. In order to reveal the star-forming scenario of the molecular cloud located on the supershell, and understand the history of star formation in the region, we identified and characterized young star candidates based on an H$α$ emission survey and various published photometric datasets. Using Gaia DR2 astrometry we studied the spatial distribution of the young star candidates and isolated three groups based on thei…
We present newly processed archival Herschel images of molecular cloud MCLD 123.5+24.9 in the Polaris Flare. This cloud contains five starless cores. Using the spectral synthesis code Cloudy, we explore uncertainties in the derivation of column densities, hence, masses of molecular cores from Herschel data. We first consider several detailed grain models that predict far-IR grain opacities. Opacities predicted by the models differ by more than a factor of two, leading to uncertainties in derived column densities by the same factor. Then we consider uncertainties associated with the modified bl…
Long-lasting, very bright multiwavelength flares of blazar jets are a curious phenomenon. The interaction of a large gas cloud with the jet of a blazar may serve as a reservoir of particles entrained by the jet. The size and density structure of the cloud then determine the duration and strength of the particle injection into the jet and the subsequent radiative outburst of the blazar. In this presentation, a comprehensive parameter study is provided showing the rich possibilities that this model offers. Additionally, we use this model to explain the 4-months long, symmetrical flare of the fla…
In late 2016 and early 2017 the flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 exhibited a very strong and long-lasting outburst. The event can be described by a roughly 2 months long increase of the baseline flux in the monitored energy bands (optical to $γ$ rays) by a factor 8, and a subsequent decrease over another 2 months back to pre-flare levels. The long-term trend was superseded by short but very strong flares, resulting in a peak flux that was a factor 50 above pre-flare levels in the $γ$-ray domain and almost a factor 100 above pre-flare levels in the optical domain. In this paper we explain the…
We investigated, through numerical models, the flaring variability that may arise from the rotation of maser clouds of approximately spheroidal geometry, ranging from strongly oblate to strongly prolate examples. Inversion solutions were obtained for each of these examples over a range of saturation levels from unsaturated to highly saturated. Formal solutions were computed for rotating clouds with many randomly chosen rotation axes, and corresponding averaged maser light curves plotted with statistical information. The dependence of results on the level of saturation and on the degree of defo…
We take advantage of a set of molecular cloud simulations to demonstrate a possibility to uncover statistical properties of the gas density and velocity fields using reflected emission of a short (with duration much less than the cloud's light-crossing time) X-ray flare. Such situation is relevant for the Central Molecular Zone of our Galaxy where several clouds get illuminated by a $\sim110$ yr-old flare from the supermassive black hole Sgr A*. Due to shortness of the flare ($Δt\lesssim1.6$ yrs), only a thin slice ($Δz\lesssim0.5$ pc) of the molecular gas contributes to the X-ray reflection s…
The LDN 1172/1174 cloud complex in the Cepheus Flare region presents a hub-filament structure with the reflection nebula, NGC 7023, illuminated by a Herbig Be star, HD 200775, which consists of the hub with a $\sim$5 pc long narrow filament attached to it. Formation of a sparse cluster of low- and intermediate-mass stars is presently taking place in the hub. The aim of this work is to map the magnetic field geometry of LDN 1172/1174 to understand the role played by the field lines in the formation of the molecular cloud. We made R-band polarization measurements of 249 stars projected on the en…
Sources of X-rays such as active galactic nuclei and X-ray binaries are often variable by orders of magnitude in luminosity over timescales of years. During and after these flares the surrounding gas is out of chemical and thermal equilibrium. We introduce a new implementation of X-ray radiative transfer coupled to a time-dependent chemical network for use in 3D magnetohydrodynamical simulations. A static fractal molecular cloud is irradiated with X-rays of different intensity, and the chemical and thermal evolution of the cloud are studied. For a simulated $10^5$ M$_\odot$ fractal cloud an X-…
Flaring activity in blazars can last for vastly different time-scales, and may be the result of density enhancements in the jet flow that result from the intrusion of an interstellar cloud into the jet. We investigate the lightcurves expected from the ablation of gas clouds by the blazar jet under various cloud and jet configurations. We derive the semi-analytical formulae describing the ablation process of a hydrostatic cloud, and perform parameter scans of artificial set-ups over both cloud and jet parameter spaces. We then use parameters obtained from measurements of various cloud types to …
Turbulence is ubiquitous in astrophysical fluids. Therefore it is necessary to study magnetic reconnection in turbulent environments. The model of fast turbulent reconnection proposed in Lazarian & Vishniac 1999 has been successfully tested numerically and it suggests numerous astrophysical implications. Those include a radically new possibility of removing magnetic field from collapsing clouds which we termed "reconnection diffusion", acceleration of cosmic rays within shrinking filaments of reconnected magnetic fields, flares of reconnection, from solar flares to much stronger ones which can…
We simulate maser flares by varying either the pump rate or the background level of radiation in a 3D model of a maser cloud. We investigate the effect of different cloud shapes, saturation levels and viewpoints. Results are considered for clouds with both uniform and internally variable unsaturated inversion. Pumping and background variations are represented by several different driving functions, some of which are light curves drawn from observations. We summarise the pumping variability results in terms of three observable parameters, the maximum flux density achieved, a variability index a…
The flat spectrum radio quasar CTA 102 (redshift 1.037) exhibited a tremendously bright 4-months long outburst from late 2016 to early 2017. In a previous paper, we interpreted the event as the ablation of a gas cloud by the relativistic jet. The multiwavelength data have been reproduced very well within this model using a leptonic emission scenario. Here we expand that work by using a hadronic scenario, which gives us greater freedom with respect to the location of the emission region within the jet. This is important, since the inferred gas cloud parameters depend on the distance from the bl…
UV and optically selected candidates for stellar tidal disruption events (TDE) often exhibit broad spectral features (HeII emission, H$α$ emission, or absorption lines) on a blackbody-like continuum (1e4K<T<1e5K). The lines presumably emit from TDE debris or circumnuclear clouds photoionized by the flare. Line velocities however are much lower than expected from a stellar disruption by supermassive black hole (SMBH), and are somewhat faster than expected for the broad line region (BLR) clouds of a persistently active galactic nucleus (AGN). The distinctive spectral states are not strongly rela…
In diffuse molecular clouds, possible precursors of star-forming clouds, the effect of the magnetic field is unclear. In this work we compare the orientations of filamentary structures in the Polaris Flare, as seen through dust emission by Herschel, to the plane-of-the-sky magnetic field orientation ($\rm B_{pos}$) as revealed by stellar optical polarimetry with RoboPol. Dust structures in this translucent cloud show a strong preference for alignment with $\rm B_{pos}$. 70 % of field orientations are consistent with those of the filaments (within 30$^\circ$). We explore the spatial variation o…
PMO Polaris CO survey. I. A 100 deg$^2$ view of the Polaris Flare
Leiden University（莱顿大学）；Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院上海天文台）；Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台）；Zhejiang Laboratory（浙江实验室）；Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院喷气推进实验室）；Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie（马克斯·普朗克射电天文研究所）；China West Normal University（西华师范大学）；Anqing Normal University（安庆师范大学）
Observations of bright and variable "reflected" X-ray emission from molecular clouds located within inner hundred parsec of our Galaxy have demonstrated that the central supermassive black hole, Sgr A*, experienced short and powerful flares in the past few hundred years. These flares offer a truly unique opportunity to determine 3D location of the illuminated clouds (with ~10 pc accuracy) and to reveal their internal structure (down to 0.1 pc scales). Short duration of the flare(s), combined with X-rays high penetration power and insensitivity of the reflection signal to thermo- and chemo-dyna…
Time-Domain Dust Astrophysics. I. Polarization Flares, Polarization-Angle Reverberation, and Fossil Imprints in Supernova-Illuminated Clouds
Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute（韩国天文与空间科学研究院）；Department of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology（科学技术大学天文与空间科学系）
Recent multi-wavelength work led by the Boston University blazar group (e.g., Marscher et al. 2010) strongly suggests that a fraction of the blazar flares seen by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) take place a few to several pc away from the central engine. However, at such distances from the central engine, there is no adequate external photon field to provide the seed photons required for producing the observed GeV emission under leptonic inverse Compton (IC) models. A possible solution is a spine-sheath geometry for the emitting region (MacDonald et al. 2015, but see Nalewajko et al. 201…
CO Structures with Narrow Lines in Nearby Quiescent Regions
Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台）；School of Astronomy and Space Science, University of Science and Technology of China（中国科学技术大学天文与空间科学学院）；State Key Laboratory of Radio Astronomy and Technology, Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences（中国科学院紫金山天文台射电天文与技术国家重点实验室）
