摘要
The most extensive survey of carbon monoxide(CO)gas in the Taurus molecular cloud relied on ^(12)CO and ^(13)CO J=1→0 emission only,distinguishing the region where ^(12)CO is detected without ^(13)CO(named mask 1 region)from the one where both are detected(mask 2 region)(Goldsmith et al.2008;Pineda et al.2010).We have taken advantage of recent ^(12)CO J=3→2 James Clerk Maxwell Telescope observations,where they include mask 1regions to estimate density,temperature,and N(CO)with a large velocity gradient model.This represents 1395 pixels out of~1.2 million in the mark 1 region.Compared to Pineda et al.(2010)results and assuming a Tkin of 30 K,we find a higher volume density of molecular hydrogen of 3.3×10^(3) cm^(-3),compared to their 250-700 cm^(-3),and a CO column density of 5.7×10^(15)cm^(-2),about a quarter of their value.The differences are important and show the necessity to observe several CO transitions to better describe the intermediate region between the dense cloud and the diffuse atomic medium.Future observations to extend the ^(12)CO J=3→2 mapping further away from the ^(13)COdetected region comprising mask 1 are needed to revisit our understanding of the diffuse portions of dark clouds.
基金
the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC,grant Nos.11988101,11725313,and U1931117)
the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(grant No.114A11KYSB20210010)
supported by the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(grant No.BK20201108)。
