Probing the physics of star formation (ProPStar)
Context. Turbulence is a key component of molecular cloud structure. It is usually described by a cascade of energy down to the dissipation scale. The power spectrum for subsonic incompressible turbulence is ∝ k −5/3 , while for supersonic turbulence it is ∝ k −2 . Aims. We determine the power spectrum in an actively star-forming molecular cloud, from parsec scales down to the expected magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) wave cutoff (dissipation scale). Methods. We analyzed observations of the nearby NGC 1333 star-forming region in three different tracers to cover the different scales from ∼10 pc down to 20 mpc. The largest scales are covered with the low-density gas tracer 13 CO (1–0) obtained with a single dish, the intermediate scales are covered with single-dish observations of the C 18 O (3–2) line, while the smallest scales are covered in H 13 CO + (1–0) and HNC (1–0) with a combination of NOEMA interferometer and IRAM 30m single-dish observations. The complementarity of these observations enables us to generate a combined power spectrum covering more than two orders of magnitude in spatial scale. Results. We derive the power spectrum in an active star-forming region spanning more than 2 decades of spatial scales. The power spectrum of the intensity maps shows a single power-law behavior, with an exponent of 2.9 ± 0.1 and no evidence of dissipation. Moreover, there is evidence that the power spectrum of the ions to have more power at smaller scales than the neutrals, which is opposite to the theoretical expectations. Conclusions. We show new possibilities for studying the dissipation of energy at small scales in star-forming regions provided by interferometric observations.
Authors
- Dominique Segura-Cox (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3172-6763)
- S. Spezzano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6787-5245)
- M. T. Valdivia-Mena (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0347-3837)
- Stella S. R. Offner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1252-9916)
- N. Cunningham (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3152-8564)
- J. E. Pineda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3972-1978)
- C. Gieser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8120-1765)
- A. Schmiedeke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1730-8832)
- R. Neri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7176-4046)
- A. V. Ivlev (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1590-1018)
- María José Maureira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7026-8163)
- O. Sipilä (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9148-1625)
- Mike Y. Chen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5410-652X)
- Michael Küffmeier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6338-3577)
- Eric W. Koch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9605-780X)
- P. Caselli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1481-7911)
- J. D. Soler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0294-4465)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Queen's University (CA)
- Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE)
- Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (FR)
- Institute for Space Astrophysics and Planetology (IT)
- SKA Observatory (GB)
- Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian (US)
- University of Virginia (US)
- The University of Texas at Austin (US)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Published
- 2024-09-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202451208
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Astro and Planetary Science
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.66
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Smithsonian Institution
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Université Paris-Saclay
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada