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On the masses of giant molecular cloud complexesA method of mass estimation for molecular clouds is presented which is based on approximate balance in the outer cloud layers between the cloud's gravitation, the galactic tide, and internal pressure. The largest observed clouds, which have greatest linear extents of 100 pc, are found to have masses of at least 200,000 solar masses. The cloud masses cannot exceed this lower limit by more than a factor of 3, or the velocity distributions of disk stars would be more relaxed than is actually observed. This implied upper limit to cloud masses combined with the galactic tide may be related to the absence of clouds at galactocentric radii less than 4 kpc. If Sagittarius B2 is bound, its mass must be more than 50 million solar masses.
Document ID
19780068577
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
External Source(s)
Authors
Stark, A. A.
(Princeton University New Observatory, Princeton, N.J., United States)
Blitz, L.
(Columbia University New York, N.Y., United States)
Date Acquired
August 9, 2013
Publication Date
October 1, 1978
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
78A52486
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NSG-5163
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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