Quick search Find article
Quick search
Find article

Star Formation in the Giant H II Regions of M101

FREE

Jean Giannakopoulou-Creighton1,2,3, Michel Fich1 and Christine D. Wilson3,4

Show affiliations


The molecular components of three giant H II regions (NGC 5461, NGC 5462, and NGC 5471) in the galaxy M101 are investigated with new observations from single-dish telescopes (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and the NRAO 12 m) and from the Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter array. Of the three H II regions, only NGC 5461 had previously been detected in CO emission. We calculate preliminary values for the molecular mass of the GMCs in NGC 5461 by assuming a CO-to-H2 factor (X factor) and then comparing these values with the virial masses. We found that the appropriate X factor is 5 times smaller than the X factor in the Milky Way despite the lower metallicity of M101. We conclude that the data in this paper demonstrate for the first time that the value of X may decrease in regions with intense star formation. The molecular mass for the association of clouds in NGC 5461 is approximately 3 × 107 Msun and is accompanied by 1-2 times as much atomic mass. The observed CO emission in NGC 5461 is an order of magnitude stronger than in NGC 5462, but it was not possible to detect molecular gas toward NGC 5471 with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. An even larger ratio of atomic to molecular gas in NGC 5471 was observed, which might be attributed to efficient conversion of molecular to atomic gas. The masses of the individual clouds in NGC 5461, which are gravitationally bound, cover a range of (2-8) × 105 Msun, comparable with the masses of Galactic giant molecular clouds. Higher star-forming efficiencies, and not massive clouds, appear to be the prerequisite for the formation of the large number of stars whose radiation is required to produce the giant H II regions in M101.


Subject headings

galaxies: individual (M101); galaxies: ISM; ISM: clouds; radio lines: ISM; stars: formation


Dates

Issue 1 (1999 September 1)

Received 1998 October 7, accepted for publication 1999 April 10



  1. Star Formation in the Giant H II Regions of M101

    Jean Giannakopoulou-Creighton et al. 1999 ApJ 522 238

  2. The X-Ray, Optical, and Infrared Counterpart to GRB 980703

    P. M. Vreeswijk et al. 1999 ApJ 523 171

  3. Diffusion in superconducting percolation networks: number of sites visited

    M Sahimi and H Siddiqui 1985 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 18 L727

  4. FEM-based evaluation of deformable image registration for radiation therapy

    Hualiang Zhong et al 2007 Phys. Med. Biol. 52 4721

  5. Lγ X-ray emission in heavy-ion bombardment of Bi

    S Ito et al 1987 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Phys. 20 L597

  6. GRB 060218: A Relativistic Supernova Shock Breakout

    E. Waxman et al. 2007 ApJ 667 351

  7. Experimental and analytical study of ultrasonic micro powder feeding

    Yong Yang and Xiaochun Li 2003 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 36 1349

  8. Quality assurance of ultrasound imaging instruments by monitoring the monitor

    J B Walker et al 1993 Phys. Med. Biol. 38 1601

  9. Generic Spectrum and Ionization Efficiency of a Heavy Initial Mass Function for the First Stars

    Volker Bromm et al. 2001 ApJ 552 464

  10. The exponential map of GL( N)

    Alexander Laufer 1997 J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. 30 5455

Users also read

What's this?
This innovative new feature generates a list of articles 'also read' by other users based on them reading the original article. Article abstracts citations and references are all considered and weighted accordingly. We hope that this will help you find relevant papers for your research.

  1. A New Probe of the Molecular Gas in Galaxies: Application to M101
  2. Ultraviolet Signatures of Tidal Interaction in the Giant Spiral Galaxy M101

View by subject




Export








Please login to access our web services, or create an account if you don't yet have one.

You must have cookies enabled in your web browser to be able to login.

Username
Password

Forgotten your password? Get a new one here.