ALMA Reveals a Cloud–Cloud Collision that Triggers Star Formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud

Neelamkodan, Naslim and Tokuda, Kazuki and Barman, Susmita and Kondo, Hiroshi and Sano, Hidetoshi and Onishi, Toshikazu (2021) ALMA Reveals a Cloud–Cloud Collision that Triggers Star Formation in the Small Magellanic Cloud. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 908 (2). L43. ISSN 2041-8205

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Abstract

We present the results of Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations in 12CO(1–0) emission at 0.58 × 0.52 pc2 resolution toward the brightest H ii region N66 of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). The 12CO(1–0) emission toward the north of N66 reveals clumpy filaments with multiple velocity components. Our analysis shows that a blueshifted filament at a velocity range of 154.4–158.6 km s−1 interacts with a redshifted filament at a velocity of 158.0–161.8 km s−1. A third velocity component at a velocity range of 161–165.0 km s−1 constitutes hub-filaments. An intermediate-mass young stellar object (YSO) and a young pre-main-sequence star cluster have hitherto been reported in the intersection of these filaments. We find a V-shape distribution in the position–velocity diagram at the intersection of two filaments. This indicates the physical association of those filaments due to a cloud–cloud collision. We determine the collision timescale ∼0.2 Myr using the relative velocity (∼5.1 km s−1) and displacement (∼1.1 pc) of those interacting filaments. These results suggest that the event occurred about 0.2 Myr ago and triggered the star formation, possibly an intermediate-mass YSO. We report the first observational evidence for a cloud–cloud collision that triggers star formation in N66N of the low metallicity ∼0.2 Z⊙ galaxy, the SMC, with similar kinematics as in N159W-South and N159E of the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Science Repository > Physics and Astronomy
Depositing User: Managing Editor
Date Deposited: 15 May 2023 07:36
Last Modified: 22 Jan 2024 04:22
URI: http://research.manuscritpub.com/id/eprint/2242

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