The Galaxy pp 105-140 | Cite as

Molecular Clouds in the Galaxy

  • P. M. Solomon
  • A. R. Rivolo
Chapter
Part of the NATO ASI Series book series (ASIC, volume 207)

Abstract

Millimeter-wave observations of the CO molecule have proved, over the past decade, to be the most important probe of molecular hydrogen and star-forming regions in the Galaxy. Molecular hydrogen, H2, has no dipole moment or radio transitions and is largely unobservable except in those regions that are shock heated (to temperatures > 1000K) to produce quadrupole vibrational-rotational emission. Observations of H2 absorption lines in the ultraviolet are necessarily limited to clouds with very small extinction and thus small H2 column densities. For these reasons, information on the physics, kinematics, Galactic distribution, and even the existence of massive star-forming clouds must come from emission lines of minor constituents, especially, but not exclusively, CO and its isotopic variants.

Keywords

Star Formation Molecular Cloud Galactic Plane Virial Theorem Warm Core 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© D. Reidel Publishing Company 1987

Authors and Affiliations

  • P. M. Solomon
    • 1
  • A. R. Rivolo
    • 2
  1. 1.Astronomy ProgramState University of New YorkStony BrookUSA
  2. 2.Dept. of Astronomy and AstrophysicsUniversity of PennsylvaniaUSA

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