Related papers: The Column Density Probability Density Function of…
We studied the H$_2$ column density probability distribution function (N-PDF) based on molecular emission lines using the Nobeyama 45-m Cygnus X CO survey data. Using the DENDROGRAM and SCIMES algorithms, we identified 124 molecular clouds…
Column density (N) PDFs serve as a powerful tool to characterize the physical processes that influence the structure of molecular clouds. Star-forming clouds can best be characterized by lognormal PDFs for the lower N range and a power-law…
Both observational and theoretical research over the past decade has demonstrated that the probability distribution function (PDF) of the gas density in turbulent molecular clouds is a key ingredient for understanding star formation. It has…
The column density probability distribution function (N-PDF) of GMCs has been used as a diagnostic of star formation. Simulations and analytic predictions have suggested the N-PDF is composed of a low density lognormal component and a high…
The structure of molecular clouds can be characterized with the probability distribution function (PDF) of the mass surface density. In particular, the properties of the distribution can reveal the nature of the turbulence and star…
It has been recently shown that molecular clouds do not exhibit a unique shape for the column density probability distribution function (Npdf). Instead, clouds without star formation seem to possess a lognormal distribution, while clouds…
Aims: We derive the probability density functions (PDFs) of column density for a complete sample of prominent molecular cloud complexes closer than 200 pc. Methods: We derive near-infrared dust extinction maps for 23 molecular cloud…
We have obtained column density maps for an unbiased sample of 120 molecular clouds in the third quadrant of the Milky Way mid-plane (b$\le |5|^{\circ}$) within the galactic longitude range from 195$^{\circ}$ to 225$^{\circ}$, using the…
We present the first study of the relationship between the column density distribution of molecular clouds within nearby Galactic spiral arms and their evolutionary status as measured from their stellar content. We analyze a sample of 195…
This paper gives a new way to diagnose the star-forming potential of a molecular cloud region from the probability density function of its column density (N-pdf). It gives expressions for the column density and mass profiles of a symmetric…
We present N-PDFs of 29 Galactic regions obtained from Herschel imaging at high angular resolution, covering diffuse and quiescent clouds, and those showing low-, intermediate-, and high-mass star formation (SF), and characterize the cloud…
The probability distribution function of column density (PDF) has become the tool of choice for cloud structure analysis and star formation studies. Its simplicity is attractive, and the PDF could offer access to cloud physical parameters…
The shape of the probability distribution function (PDF) of molecular clouds is an important ingredient for modern theories of star formation and turbulence. Recently, several studies have pointed out observational difficulties with…
In this Letter we investigate the shape of the probability distribution of column densities (PDF) in molecular clouds. Through the use of low-noise, extinction-calibrated \textit{Herschel}/\textit{Planck} emission data for eight molecular…
Describing how the properties of the interstellar medium combine across size-scales is crucial for understanding star formation scaling laws and connecting Galactic and extragalactic data of molecular clouds. We describe how the statistical…
Constraining the physical and chemical evolution of molecular clouds is essential to our understanding of star formation. These investigations often necessitate knowledge of some local representative number density of the gas along the line…
We present CO(2-1) and $^{13}$CO(2-1) maps of the Cygnus-X molecular cloud complex using the 10m Heinrich Hertz Submillimeter Telescope (SMT). The maps cover the southern portion of the complex which is strongly impacted by the feedback…
We revisit the mass-size relation of molecular cloud structures based on the column density map of the Cygnus-X molecular cloud complex. We extract 135 column density peaks in Cygnus-X and analyze the column density distributions around…
The probability distribution function (PDF) of the mass surface density is an essential characteristic of the structure of molecular clouds or the interstellar medium in general. Observations of the PDF of molecular clouds indicate a…
Column-density maps of molecular clouds are one of the most important observables in the context of molecular cloud- and star-formation (SF) studies. With the Herschel satellite it is now possible to determine the column density from dust…