GBT19B-253

GBT-JVLA-ammonia and ALMA-dust measure the origins of the IMF

Abstract

The study of massive protoclusters is mandatory for investigating the origin of the IMF in the typical, yet extreme environments where massive stars are formed. To this end we are carrying out ALMA-IMF, an in-progress ALMA Cycle 6 Large Program that is systematically measuring the precursor to the stellar IMF, the core mass function (CMF), towards a volume limited sample of the most massive, parsec-scale protoclusters in the Milky Way. However, the essential measurement of core masses from the ALMA dust continuum maps are strongly limited by uncertainty in the dust temperatures due to the inadequate ~10-30 arcsec resolution of Herschel. On these scales multiple ~2000-4000 au (~1 arcsec) cores, dense filaments, and warm ambient gas are blended. Critically, the CMF slope is highly sensitive to temperature, which leads to systematic biases in measurements of low-mass versus high-mass cores. Inaccurate temperature assumptions will lead to incorrect CMF slope inference. Matched resolution measurements to ALMA of accurate core temperatures are thus crucial for the robust analysis of the CMFs in the ALMA-IMF program. In this proposal we shall create accurate and precise maps of gas kinetic temperature from ammonia at matched 1 arcsec resolution using the GBT and JVLA.

Investigators

Name	Institution
Brian Svoboda *	National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Arizona, University of
John Bally	Colorado at Boulder, University of
Adam Ginsburg	National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Florida, University of; Colorado at Boulder, University of; European Southern Observatory
Cara Battersby	Connecticut, University of; Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Erik Rosolowsky	British Columbia at Okanagan, University of ; Alberta, University of
Amelia Stutz	Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie; Concepción, Universidad de
Timea CSENGERI	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie; Bordeaux, Université de
Frederique Motte	Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique
Sylvain Bontemps	Bordeaux, Observatoire de
Roberto Galvan-Madrid	México, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de
Patricio Sanhueza Nunez	National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Karl Menten	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie
Xing Lu	Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian; National Astronomical Observatory of Japan ; Shanghai Astronomical Observatory, CAS
Jonathan Braine	Bordeaux, Université de
Antoine Gusdorf	Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie

* indicates the PI