Publication Date
1987
Journal or Book Title
Astrophysical Journal
Abstract
Observations of the 1300-micron continuum emission and the C(O-18) spectral-line emission from three well-studied giant molecular cloud cores: Orion, W49, and W51 are presented. The observations were obtained at the Five College Radio Astronomy Observatory, and they provide a means to examine the consistency of these two methods to trace the column density structure of molecular clouds. A good general correlation is found between the 1300-micron continuum, which traces the column density of dust, and the C(O-18) J = 2-1 line emission, which traces the column density of molecular gas, when the effects of source temperature are taken into consideration. Moreover, nominal values for the gas and dust abundances and the dust properties reproduce the observed continuum-to-line ratios. Thus, no strong C(O-18) abundance gradients within sources has been found, and it appears that either the C(O-18) emission lines or the submillimeter dust emission may used to derive the mass column density within molecular clouds accurately.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1086/165467
Pages
426-435
Volume
319
Issue
1
Recommended Citation
Schloerb, F. Peter; Snell, Ronald L.; and Schwartz, P. R., "1300 MICRON CONTINUUM AND C18O LINE MAPPING OF THE GIANT MOLECULAR CLOUD CORES IN ORION, W49, AND W51" (1987). Astrophysical Journal. 516.
https://doi.org/10.1086/165467