The ALMA View of Dense Molecular Gas in 30 Doradus
Abstract
At a distance of 50 kpc, the 30 Doradus region within the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) hosts several sites of star formation including R136, a starburst region home to dozens of evolved O stars. The intense radiation from R136 creates an extreme environment for nearby star formation in such a low-metallicity, low mass galaxy. We have targeted a star-forming region ~15 pc away from R136 within 30 Doradus using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to map the molecular gas to study the sites of star formation. We are conducting a clump-by-clump analysis of the intensities and line ratios of dense gas (HCO+, HCN, CS, H13CO+, H13CN) and diffuse gas (CO, 13CO, C18O) tracers at sub-parsec resolution. We identify and characterize ~100 molecular clumps within the region. With the observed molecular species, we aim to determine the physical conditions of each clump (e.g. size, internal turbulence, molecular abundance). We compare the intensities and line ratios to non-LTE Radex model grids of the excitation temperature, molecular column density, and volume density of the H2 collider to determine the physical excitation conditions within the clumps. We compare these properties of each clump to both associated and embedded star formation properties to quantify the relative importance of internal feedback from the star formation itself versus external feedback processes from R136 and determine which process dominates in this region.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #229
- Pub Date:
- January 2017
- Bibcode:
- 2017AAS...22934006B