The JCMT and Herschel Gould Belt Surveys: A comparison of SCUBA-2 and Herschel data of dense cores in the Taurus dark cloud L1495

D. Ward-Thompson, K. Pattle, J. M. Kirk, K. Marsh, J. Buckle, J. Hatchell, D. J. Nutter, M. J. Griffin, J. Di Francesco, P. André, S. Beaulieu, D. Berry, H. Broekhoven-Fiene, M. Currie, M. Fich, T. Jenness, D. Johnstone, H. Kirk, J. Mottram, J. PinedaC. Quinn, S. Sadavoy, C. Salji, S. Tisi, S. Walker-Smith, G. White, T. Hill, V. Könyves, P. Palmeirim, S. Pezzuto

Research output: Contribution to a Journal (Peer & Non Peer)Articlepeer-review

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We present a comparison of Submillimetre Common User Bolometer Array-2 (SCUBA-2) 850-μm and Herschel 70-500-μm observations of the L1495 filament in the Taurus Molecular Cloud with the goal of characterizing the SCUBA-2 Gould Belt Survey (GBS) data set. We identify and characterize starless cores in three data sets: SCUBA-2 850-μm, Herschel 250-μm, and Herschel 250-μm spatially filtered to mimic the SCUBA-2 data. SCUBA-2 detects only the highest-surface-brightness sources, principally detecting protostellar sources and starless cores embedded in filaments, while Herschel is sensitive to most of the cloud structure, including extended low-surface-brightness emission. Herschel detects considerably more sources than SCUBA-2 even after spatial filtering. We investigate which properties of a starless core detected by Herschel determine its detectability by SCUBA-2, and find that they are the core's temperature and column density (for given dust properties). For similar-temperature cores, such as those seen in L1495, the surface brightnesses of the cores are determined by their column densities, with the highest-column-density cores being detected by SCUBA-2. For roughly spherical geometries, column density corresponds to volume density, and so SCUBA-2 selects the densest cores from a population at a given temperature. This selection effect, which we quantify as a function of distance, makes SCUBA-2 ideal for identifying those cores in Herschel catalogues that are closest to forming stars. Our results can now be used by anyone wishing to use the SCUBA-2 GBS data set.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1008-1025
Number of pages18
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume463
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2016
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • ISM: clouds
  • ISM: Individual objects: Taurus and L1495
  • stars: formation

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