Under pressure: Revealing the thermal and spatial structure of strongly irradiated clouds in the Carina Nebula, the nearest laboratory of massive star feedback
The Carina Nebula contains some of the most massive andluminous stars in our Galaxy and is the best site to study in detailthe physics of violent massive star formation and theresulting feedback effects, i.e.~cloud dispersal and triggering of starformation. We are engaged in a comprehensive multi-wavelengthstudy of the Carina Nebula. Our new X-ray and near-infrared data,and mid-infrared data reveal and characterize the full stellar population.We also have used LABOCA at the APEX telescope to obtain awide-field sub-mm map of the Carina Nebula;while it shows the morphology of the cold clouds in unprecedenteddetail, these single wavelength data do not permit to determinecloud temperatures, and thus cloud column densities and masses.Here we ask for 7.2 hours SPIRE/PACS time to map the full spatialextent of the clouds (5.4 square-deg.) simultaneously at 5wavelengths. The HERSCHEL maps will yield fluxes at the criticalfar-IR wavelengths and allow us to reliably determine cloud temperatures,column densities, and thus cloud masses.This will yield a complete inventory of all individual clouds inthe complex, down to cloud masses of 1 Msun, and allow us todetect the youngest and most deeply embedded protostars (down to 0.1 Msun).We will map large-scale temperature gradients andchanges in the dust properties that are expected as a consequence of thestrong feedback by the massive stars, andestablish and compare the clump mass functions in differentparts of the complex.By comparison with similar HERSCHEL data for other star forming regions,we can address the question of how the particularly high levels ofmassive star feedback influence the evolution of the clouds andthe star formation process.These HERSCHEL data will also reveal the small-scale structureof the irradiated clouds and allow ameaningful comparison to our dedicated numerical simulationsof the disruption of molecular clouds, the origin of the observed pillar-likestructures, and the triggering of new stellar generations.
Publication
Jet-driving protostars identified from infrared observations of the Carina Nebula complex | Ohlendorf H. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 540 id.A81 14 pp. | 540 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201118181 | 2012A&A...540A..81O | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012A%26A...540A..81O
Discovering young stars in the Gum 31 region with infrared observations | Ohlendorf H. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 552 id.A14 20 pp. | 552 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201220218 | 2013A&A...552A..14O | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013A%26A...552A..14O
The Disk Population in a Distant Massive Protocluster | Cheng Yu et al. | The Astrophysical Journal | null | null | 2022ApJ...940..124C |
Demonstration of a Novel Method for Measuring Mass-loss Rates for Massive Stars | Kobulnicky Henry A. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Volume 856 Issue 1 article id. 74 11 pp. (2018). | 856 | 10.3847/1538-4357/aab3e0 | 2018ApJ...856...74K | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ApJ...856...74K
The Nearby Evolved Stars Survey II: Constructing a volume-limited sample and first results from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope | Scicluna P. et al. | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society | null | null | 2022MNRAS.512.1091S |
Herschel far-infrared observations of the Carina Nebula complex. III. Detailed cloud structure and feedback effects | Roccatagliata V. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 554 id.A6 16 pp. | 554 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201321081 | 2013A&A...554A...6R | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013A%26A...554A...6R
Herschel far-infrared observations of the Carina Nebula complex. II. The embedded young stellar and protostellar population | Gaczkowski B. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 549 id.A67 18 pp. | 549 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201219836 | 2013A&A...549A..67G | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013A%26A...549A..67G
Gemini SOFIA and ATCA Reveal Very Young Massive Protostars in the Collapsing Molecular Cloud BYF 73 | Pitts Rebecca L. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Letters Volume 867 Issue 1 article id. L7 6 pp. (2018). | 867 | 10.3847/2041-8213/aae6ce | 2018ApJ...867L...7P | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018ApJ...867L...7P
Star formation toward the H II region IRAS 10427-6032 | Vaidya Kaushar et al. | New Astronomy Volume 63 p. 27-37. | 63 | 10.1016/j.newast.2018.02.008 | 2018NewA...63...27V | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2018NewA...63...27V
The VISTA Carina Nebula Survey . I. Introduction and source catalog | Preibisch T. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 572 id.A116 13 pp. | 572 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201424045 | 2014A&A...572A.116P | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014A%26A...572A.116P
Molecular gas associated with IRAS 10361-5830 | Vazzano M. M. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 570 id.A109 11 pp. | 570 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201423369 | 2014A&A...570A.109V | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014A%26A...570A.109V
Understanding star formation in molecular clouds. I. Effects of line-of-sight contamination on the column density structure | Schneider N. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 575 id.A79 17 pp. | 575 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201423569 | 2015A&A...575A..79S | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015A%26A...575A..79S
Herschel far-infrared observations of the Carina Nebula complex. I. Introduction and global cloud structure | Preibisch T. et al. | Astronomy & Astrophysics Volume 541 id.A132 19 pp. | 541 | 10.1051/0004-6361/201218851 | 2012A&A...541A.132P | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012A%26A...541A.132P
e Carinaes Dusty Homunculus Nebula from Near-infrared to Submillimeter Wavelengths: Mass Composition and Evidence for Fading Opacity | Morris Patrick W. et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Volume 842 Issue 2 article id. 79 26 pp. (2017). | 842 | 10.3847/1538-4357/aa71b3 | 2017ApJ...842...79M | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017ApJ...842...79M
The Mysterious Sickle Object in the Carina Nebula: A Stellar Wind Induced Bow Shock Grazing a Clump? | Ngoumou Judith et al. | The Astrophysical Journal Volume 769 Issue 2 article id. 139 8 pp. (2013). | 769 | 10.1088/0004-637X/769/2/139 | 2013ApJ...769..139N | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013ApJ...769..139N
On the diagnostic power of FIR/sub-mm SED fitting in massive galactic molecular clumps | Pitts Rebecca L. et al. | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Volume 484 Issue 1 p.305-331 | 484 | 10.1093/mnras/sty3360 | 2019MNRAS.484..305P | http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2019MNRAS.484..305P
Instrument
SPIRE\/PACS parallel_SpirePacsParallel_
Temporal Coverage
2010-12-26T17:07:58Z/2010-12-27T00:02:05Z
Version
SPG v14.2.0
Mission Description
Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities.
European Space Agency, preibisch et al., 2011, 'Under pressure: Revealing the thermal and spatial structure of strongly irradiated clouds in the Carina Nebula, the nearest laboratory of massive star feedback', SPG v14.2.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-hoiiuwf
