A global view on star formation: The GLOSTAR Galactic plane survey: X. Galactic H II region catalog using radio recombination lines
Abstract
Studies of Galactic H II regions are of crucial importance for studying star formation and the evolution of the interstellar medium. Gaining an insight into their physical characteristics contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of these phenomena. The GLOSTAR project aims to provide a GLObal view on STAR formation in the Milky Way by performing an unbiased and sensitive survey. This is achieved by using the extremely wideband (4–8 GHz) C-band receiver of the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array and the Effelsberg 100 m telescope. Using radio recombination lines observed in the GLOSTAR survey with the VLA in D-configuration with a typical line sensitivity of 1 σ ~ 3.0 mJy beam‑1 at ~5 km s‑1 and an angular resolution of 25″, we cataloged 244 individual Galactic H II regions (‑2° ≤ ℓ ≤ 60° and |b| ≤ 1°, and 76° ≤ ℓ ≤ 83° and ‑1° ≤ b ≤ 2°) and derived their physical properties. We examined the mid-infrared (MIR) morphology of these H II regions and find that a significant portion of them exhibit a bubble-like morphology in the GLIMPSE 8 μm emission. We also searched for associations with the dust continuum and sources of methanol maser emission, other tracers of young stellar objects, and find that 48% and 14% of our H II regions, respectively, are coextensive with those. We measured the electron temperature for a large sample of H II regions within Galactocentric distances spanning from 1.6 to 13.1 kpc and derived the Galactic electron temperature gradient as ~372 ± 28 K kpc‑1 with an intercept of 4248 ± 161 K, which is consistent with previous studies.
- Publication:
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Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Pub Date:
- September 2024
- DOI:
- arXiv:
- arXiv:2407.05770
- Bibcode:
- 2024A&A...689A..81K
- Keywords:
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- instrumentation: interferometers;
- catalogs;
- surveys;
- stars: formation;
- H II regions;
- Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
- E-Print:
- Accepted for publication in A&