Reid Sherman

Graduate Student, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Scientific Advisor: Doyal ''Al'' Harper

Contact Information

Phone: (773) 702-5963
Location: AAC 018
Email: rasoddjob.uchicago.edu
WWW: Web Site

PhD Thesis

Investigation of Molecular Cloud Structure around Infrared Bubbles: CARMA Observations of N14, N22, and N74
Defense Date: August 18, 2011

Ph.D. Committee: Roger Hildebrand, Stephan Meyer, Wayne Hu.

"An important unresolved problem in studies of star formation is the role of feedback. How does the formation of stars in a dense molecular cloud affect the evolution of the cloud and the formation of successive generations of stars?
Reid's research uses newly developed instrumental capabilities of the CARMA telescope array to explore the structure and motions in molecular clouds around "bubbles", pockets of hot ionized gas created by ultraviolet radiation from massive young stars. CARMA's high angular resolution and ability to observe many different parts of the millimeter-wavelength spectrum at the same time allow it to efficiently probe star-forming clouds at scales comparable to the size and density of the "molecular cores" required for the formation of additional high-mass stars."
- Doyal Harper, PhD advisor.

Thesis Abstract:
We present CARMA observations in 3.3 mm continuum and several molecular lines of the surroundings of N14, N22, and N74, three infrared bubbles from the GLIMPSE catalog. We have discovered 21 compact continuum sources and confirmed their associations with the bubbles using velocity information from HCO⁺ and HCN. We have also mapped fragments of quiescent clouds in the vicinity of the bubbles using N₂H⁺. By combining our data with public survey data, we establish about half of our continuum sources as star-forming cores. We also use survey data with the velocity information from our molecular line observations to describe the morphology of the bubbles and the nature of the fragmentation. We conclude from the properties of the continuum sources that N74 lies at a much greater distance than previously assumed. We also present tentative evidence of molecular clouds being more fragmented on bubble rims compared to dark clouds, suggesting that triggered star formation may occur, though our findings do not conform to a classic collect-and-collapse model.

Scientific Projects

Current Projects: Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy

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