Evidence that widespread star formation may be underway in G0.253+016, "The Brick"

Abstract

Image cubes of differential column density as a function of dust temperature are constructed for Galactic Centre molecular cloud G0.253+0.016 ("The Brick") using the recently described PPMAP procedure. The input data consist of continuum images from the Herschel Space Telescope in the wavelength range 70-500 $\mu$m, supplemented by previously published interferometric data at 1.3 mm wavelength. While the bulk of the dust in the molecular cloud is consistent with being heated externally by the local interstellar radiation field, our image cube shows the presence, near one edge of the cloud, of a filamentary structure whose temperature profile suggests internal heating. The structure appears as a cool ($\sim 14$ K) tadpole-like feature, $\sim 6$ pc in length, in which is embedded a thin spine of much hotter ($\sim$ 40-50 K) material. We interpret these findings in terms of a cool filament whose hot central region is undergoing gravitational collapse and fragmentation to form a line of protostars. If confirmed, this would represent the first evidence of widespread star formation having started within this cloud.

arXiv comment5 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters

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• The Dawes Review 8: Measuring the Stellar Initial Mass Function
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• 'The Brick' is not a brick: A comprehensive study of the structure and dynamics of the Central Molecular Zone cloud G0.253+0.016
• Synthetic observations of star formation and the interstellar medium
• Star formation in 'the Brick': ALMA reveals an active proto-cluster in the Galactic centre cloud G0.253+0.016
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• A wind-blown bubble in the Central Molecular Zone cloud G0.253+0.016
• AzTEC Survey of the Central Molecular Zone: Increasing Spectral Index of Dust with Density
• JWST reveals widespread CO ice and gas absorption in the Galactic Center cloud G0.253+0.016
• On Far-Infrared and Submm Circular Polarization
• Chemical templates of the Central Molecular Zone. Shock and protostellar object signatures under Galactic Center conditions
• Sutra : An integrated framework for identification and characterization of filaments in the interstellar medium