Leiden University Scholarly Publications

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Pabst, C.H.M. (2021)

Orion's Dragon and other stories: Feedback by massive stars

Doctoral Thesis
Stellar feedback is a crucial ingredient in the evolution of galaxies. Massive stars disrupt their natal molecular clouds and perturb the ambient interstellar medium, not only when they explode as supernovae but also during their lifetimes by stellar winds and radiation. The irradiated, heated, and stirred gas cools through the emission of fine-structure lines. The far-infrared fine-structure line of ionized carbon is the dominant coolant of warm neutral gas and has been suggested as a powerful tracer of the star-formation rate (a derivative of stellar feedback) in distant galaxies. This thesis aims to explore the origins of the [CII] emission and to quantify stellar feedback observationally in local samples. I have used high-resolution (both spectral and angular) observations of the [CII] line obtained with the upGREAT instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) of the Horsehead Nebula and the Orion Nebula at the surface of the Orion molecular...Show moreStellar feedback is a crucial ingredient in the evolution of galaxies. Massive stars disrupt their natal molecular clouds and perturb the ambient interstellar medium, not only when they explode as supernovae but also during their lifetimes by stellar winds and radiation. The irradiated, heated, and stirred gas cools through the emission of fine-structure lines. The far-infrared fine-structure line of ionized carbon is the dominant coolant of warm neutral gas and has been suggested as a powerful tracer of the star-formation rate (a derivative of stellar feedback) in distant galaxies. This thesis aims to explore the origins of the [CII] emission and to quantify stellar feedback observationally in local samples. I have used high-resolution (both spectral and angular) observations of the [CII] line obtained with the upGREAT instrument onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) of the Horsehead Nebula and the Orion Nebula at the surface of the Orion molecular cloud. This nearby template star-forming region allows to study physical properties of the irradiated gas and to precisely determine the amount of kinetic energy deposited in the expanding bubbles surrounding the massive stars.
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Interstellar medium (ISM)
Photodissociation regions (PDRs)
ISM: kinematics and dynamics
Individual objects: Horsehead Nebula
Individual objects: Orion Nebula
All authors
Pabst, C.H.M.
Supervisor
Tielens, A.G.G.M.; Goicoechea, J.R.
Committee
Röttgering, H.J.A.; Werf, P.P. van der; Anderson, L.D.; Gerin, M.; O'Dell, C.R.
Qualification
Doctor (dr.)
Awarding Institution
Leiden Observatory, Faculty of Science, Leiden University
Date
2021-03-18
ISBN (print)
9789464191448