Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published September 2017 | Published
Journal Article Open

Deep, Broadband Spectral Line Surveys of Molecule-rich Interstellar Clouds

Abstract

Spectral line surveys are an indispensable tool for exploring the physical and chemical evolution of astrophysical environments due to the vast amount of data that can be obtained in a relatively short amount of time. We present deep, broadband spectral line surveys of 30 interstellar clouds using two broadband λ = 1.3 mm receivers at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. This information can be used to probe the influence of physical environment on molecular complexity. We observed a wide variety of sources to examine the relative abundances of organic molecules as they relate to the physical properties of the source (i.e., temperature, density, dynamics, etc.). The spectra are highly sensitive, with noise levels ≤25 mK at a velocity resolution of ~0.35 km s^(−1). In the initial analysis presented here, column densities and rotational temperatures have been determined for the molecular species that contribute significantly to the spectral line density in this wavelength regime. We present these results and discuss their implications for complex molecule formation in the interstellar medium.

Additional Information

© 2017 American Astronomical Society. Received 2017 May 2. Accepted 2017 July 13. Published 2017 August 22. Support for this work was provided in part by the National Science Foundation CAREER Award CHE-1150492. Support for the development of GOBASIC was provided by NASA Herschel OT1 Analysis Program RSA No. 1428755, the Emory Chemistry Early Career Research Grant, Emory SURE and SIRE programs (funding from Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant No. 52005873), and the Emory College Undergraduate Research Matching Grant. S.L.W.W., J.C.L., L.Z., B.M.H., N.W., and B.A.M. were supported for this work by S.L.W.W.'s startup funds, provided by Emory University. J.L.S., M.L.R., T.N.C., and J.A.K. were also supported by S.L.W.W.'s Emory startup funds, and by the Emory SURE and SIRE programs (funding from Howard Hughes Medical Institute grant No. 52005873). B.A.M. is a Jansky Fellow of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, which is a facility of the National Science Foundation operated under cooperative agreement by Associated Universities, Inc. D.C.L. acknowledges support by NASA (Herschel OT funding) through an award issued by JPL/Caltech. We thank Frank Rice, Jonas Zmuidzinas, and Geoffrey Blake for technical support with the prototype receiver and assistance in data collection for the Orion-KL spectrum. We thank Martin Emprechtinger, Peter Schilke, and Claudia Comito for helpful discussions regarding the analysis of line surveys and deconvolution of DSB spectra, Thomas Anderson for assistance during part of the observations, Gordon Stacey for collegiality with time-sharing the telescope during rapid weather transitions on Maunakea, and Thomas Phillips for his general guidance and support. We gratefully acknowledge the support and services offered by the CSO technical and support staff, in particular Simon Radford, Richard Chamberlin, Ed Bufil, Brian Force, Hiroshige Yoshida, and Diana Bisel. We also thank the support staff from Caltech and Emory. This material is based upon work performed at the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory, which was operated by the California Institute of Technology under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation (AST-0838261).

Attached Files

Published - Widicus_Weaver_2017_ApJS_232_3.pdf

Files

Widicus_Weaver_2017_ApJS_232_3.pdf
Files (4.2 MB)
Name Size Download all
md5:408539b0905e2ecf3e25eedc018871bb
4.2 MB Preview Download

Additional details

Created:
August 21, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023