Project duration: 1yr
PI information: Margaret Meixner, Muller N414, meixner@stsci.edu
Abstract (from ALMA proposal):
We propose a molecular gas survey of the 30 Doradus region to understand how massive star feedback affects the physics of star formation in the neighboring molecular gas. Our survey covers the most prominent CO-emitting regions within 60pc of the the R136 super star cluster. Abundant ancillary data makes 30 Dor the best studied case of extreme star formation at reduced metallicity, which may dominate star formation processes at higher redshift. The pre-main sequence (PMS) stars from our HST studies and the young stellar objects (YSOs) from our Spitzer and Herschel studies provide a ~2" map of star formation activity spanning the stellar initial mass range. With ALMA, we will map molecular gas with 12CO, 13CO, C18O J=2-1 and H2CO at a comparable angular resolution of ~1.8", to (1) measure the effect of the feedback environment on star formation triggering, activity, and thresholds, and (2) measure the degree to which feedback energy is directly transmitted into the turbulence of the molecular clouds.
How do stars form in extreme environments and at low metallicity?
30 Doradus is a giant HII region in the Large Magellanic Cloud that is powered by R136, the famous super star cluster
Meixner has an accepted Cycle 9 ALMA program to map the molecular gas in 30 Doradus.
Goal is to compare the molecular gas properties with the forming young stellar objects in the region to understand their formation.
