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EPoS |
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EPoS Contribution
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The star formation rate in the Galactic Centre using JWST imaging
Rebecca J. Houghton LJMU, Liverpool, UK | |
| The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), in the Galactic Centre, is the most extreme star-forming environment in the Galaxy. The pressures, gas densities, magnetic fields, and temperatures are orders of magnitudes higher than in local star-forming regions, making star formation in the CMZ more similar to that of the early Universe than the present day Solar neighbourhood. Additionally, due to its proximity, the CMZ is the only such environment where detecting young stars and resolving gas on protostellar scales is possible. Studying the CMZ is crucial for understanding star formation in different environments and at different cosmological ages. I will present the results of our study of Galactic Centre (GC) Cloud 'E/F'; a young, massive, compact cloud that is representative of the star-forming environment for massive GC clusters. Thanks to the unparalleled resolution and sensitivity of JWST, we have detected young stellar objects (YSOs) down to luminosities of 0.1 Solar luminosities to generate the most complete sample to date of YSOs in a Galactic Centre cloud. I will show how we have used the number of YSOs to calculate robust limits on the star formation rate (SFR). Our results are compared with previous studies of the GC and local solar neighbourhood to try and understand why the CMZ appears to be underproducing stars by 1-2 orders of magnitude. We have combined our findings with JWST-resolution ALMA data to study the environmental dependence of YSOs in GC clouds, and have several studies proposed to further investigate star formation in the Galactic Centre. | |
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| Caption: JWST image of Galactic Centre Cloud E/F, composed of NIRCam filters F210M (Blue), F360M (Green), and F480M (Red). Overlaid are the Herschel Hi-GAL dust column density contours showing clouds E (towards the bottom right) and F (towards the top left). | |
| Collaborators: S. Longmore, LJMU, UK P. Esteve, Paris-Saclay, FR R. Gutermuth, UMass Amherst, US T. Huard, UMD, US J. Kauffmann, MIT, US |
Relevant topic(s): Cores Molecular Clouds |
| Relevant Big Question: How do extreme environments in the CMZ affect star formation rates? | |