PDRs4All II. JWST’s NIR and MIR imaging view of the Orion Nebula
Journal article, 2024
Context. The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has captured the most detailed and sharpest infrared (IR) images ever taken of the inner region of the Orion Nebula, the nearest massive star formation region, and a prototypical highly irradiated dense photo-dissociation region (PDR). Aims. We investigate the fundamental interaction of far-ultraviolet (FUV) photons with molecular clouds. The transitions across the ionization front (IF), dissociation front (DF), and the molecular cloud are studied at high-angular resolution. These transitions are relevant to understanding the effects of radiative feedback from massive stars and the dominant physical and chemical processes that lead to the IR emission that JWST will detect in many Galactic and extragalactic environments. Methods. We utilized NIRCam and MIRI to obtain sub-arcsecond images over ∼150′′ and 42′′ in key gas phase lines (e.g., Pa α, Br α, [FeII] 1.64 µm, H2 1–0 S(1) 2.12 µm, 0–0 S(9) 4.69 µm), aromatic and aliphatic infrared bands (aromatic infrared bands at 3.3–3.4 µm, 7.7, and 11.3 µm), dust emission, and scattered light. Their emission are powerful tracers of the IF and DF, FUV radiation field and density distribution. Using NIRSpec observations the fractional contributions of lines, AIBs, and continuum emission to our NIRCam images were estimated. A very good agreement is found for the distribution and intensity of lines and AIBs between the NIRCam and NIRSpec observations. Results. Due to the proximity of the Orion Nebula and the unprecedented angular resolution of JWST, these data reveal that the molecular cloud borders are hyper structured at small angular scales of ∼0.1–1′′ (∼0.0002–0.002 pc or ∼40–400 au at 414 pc). A diverse set of features are observed such as ridges, waves, globules and photoevaporated protoplanetary disks. At the PDR atomic to molecular transition, several bright features are detected that are associated with the highly irradiated surroundings of the dense molecular condensations and embedded young star. Toward the Orion Bar PDR, a highly sculpted interface is detected with sharp edges and density increases near the IF and DF. This was predicted by previous modeling studies, but the fronts were unresolved in most tracers. The spatial distribution of the AIBs reveals that the PDR edge is steep and is followed by an extensive warm atomic layer up to the DF with multiple ridges. A complex, structured, and folded H0/H2 DF surface was traced by the H2 lines. This dataset was used to revisit the commonly adopted 2D PDR structure of the Orion Bar as our observations show that a 3D “terraced” geometry is required to explain the JWST observations. JWST provides us with a complete view of the PDR, all the way from the PDR edge to the substructured dense region, and this allowed us to determine, in detail, where the emission of the atomic and molecular lines, aromatic bands, and dust originate. Conclusions. This study offers an unprecedented dataset to benchmark and transform PDR physico-chemical and dynamical models for the JWST era. A fundamental step forward in our understanding of the interaction of FUV photons with molecular clouds and the role of FUV irradiation along the star formation sequence is provided.
photon-dominated region (PDR)
ISM: clouds
infrared: ISM
Author
Emilie Habart
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Els Peeters
Western University
O. Berné
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Boris Trahin
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Amelie Canin
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Ryan Chown
Western University
Ameek Sidhu
Western University
Dries Van De Putte
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Felipe Alarcon
University of Michigan
Ilane Schroetter
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
E. Dartois
University Paris-Saclay
S. Vicente
Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences (IA)
Alain Abergel
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
E. A. Bergin
University of Michigan
J. Bernard-Salas
Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
Christiaan Boersma
NASA Ames Research Center
E. Bron
Paris Observatory
Jan Cami
Western University
S. Cuadrado
CSIC - Instituto de Fisica Fundamental (IFF)
D. Dicken
Royal Observatory
Meriem Elyajouri
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
A. Fuente
Spanish National Observatory (OAN)
J.R. Goicoechea
CSIC - Instituto de Fisica Fundamental (IFF)
K. Gordon
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Lina Issa
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
C. Joblin
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Olga Kannavou
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Baria Khan
Western University
Ozan Lacinbala
Quantum Solid State Physics (QSP)
David Languignon
Paris Observatory
R. Le Gal
Institut de Planétologie et d’Astrophysique de Grenoble (IPAG)
Alexandros Maragkoudakis
NASA Ames Research Center
Raphael Meshaka
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Yoko Okada
University of Cologne
Takashi Onaka
University of Tokyo
Sofia Pasquini
Western University
Marc W. Pound
University of Michigan
Massimo Robberto
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
M. Rollig
Physikalischer Verein
Bethany Schefter
Western University
Thiébaut Schirmer
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Benoît Tabone
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
A.G.G.M. Tielens
Leiden University
M.G. Wolfire
University of Maryland
Marion Zannese
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Nathalie Ysard
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Marc Antoine Miville-Deschênes
University Paris-Saclay
I. Aleman
Federal University of Itajubá
Louis Allamandola
NASA Ames Research Center
Rebecca Auchettl
Australian Synchrotron (ANSTO)
Giuseppe Antonio Baratta
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Salma Bejaoui
NASA Ames Research Center
Partha P. Bera
NASA Ames Research Center
John H Black
Chalmers, Space, Earth and Environment, Astronomy and Plasmaphysics
F. Boulanger
Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure
Jordy Bouwman
University of Colorado at Boulder
B. R. Brandl
Leiden University
Philippe Brechignac
University Paris-Saclay
S. Brünken
Radboud University
Mridusmita Buragohain
University of Hyderabad
Andrew Burkhardt
Wellesley College
Alessandra Candian
Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy
S. Cazaux
Delft University of Technology
Jose Cernicharo
CSIC - Instituto de Fisica Fundamental (IFF)
Marin Chabot
University Paris-Saclay
Shubhadip Chakraborty
Gitam School of Science
Jason Champion
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Sean W. J. Colgan
NASA Ames Research Center
Ilsa R. Cooke
University of British Columbia (UBC)
A. Coutens
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
N. L. J. Cox
Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur
K. Demyk
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Jennifer Donovan Meyer
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Sacha Foschino
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
P. Garcia-Lario
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
Lisseth Gavilan
NASA Ames Research Center
M. Gerin
Paris Observatory
C. A. Gottlieb
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
P. Guillard
Institut d 'Astrophysique de Paris
Antoine Gusdorf
Laboratoire de Physique de l’Ecole Normale Supérieure
Patrick Hartigan
Rice University
J. H. He
Yunnan Observatories
E Herbst
University of Virginia
Liv Hornekaer
Aarhus University
Cornelia Jäger
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Eduardo Janot-Pacheco
University of Sao Paulo (USP)
M. Kaufman
San Jose State University
F. Kemper
Institute of Space Sciences (ICE) - CSIC
S. Kendrew
European Space Agency (ESA)
M. S. Kirsanova
Russian Academy of Sciences
Pamela Klaassen
Royal Observatory
Sun Kwok
University of British Columbia (UBC)
A. Labiano
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
Thomas Lai
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Timothy J. Lee
NASA Ames Research Center
B. Lefloch
University of Bordeaux
Franck Le Petit
Paris Observatory
Aigen Li
University of Missouri
H. Linz
Max Planck Society
Cameron J. MacKie
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
S. C. Madden
Leiden University
Joëlle Mascetti
Institut des Sciences Moleculaires, Talence
Brett McGuire
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Pablo Merino
CSIC - Instituto de Ciencia de Materiales de Madrid (ICMM)
Elisabetta R. Micelotta
University of Helsinki
K. A. Misselt
University of Arizona
Jon A. Morse
AstronetX
Giacomo Mulas
Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP)
Naslim Neelamkodan
United Arab Emirates University
Ryou Ohsawa
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
A.A. Omont
Paris Observatory
R. Paladini
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Maria Elisabetta Palumbo
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
Amit Pathak
Banaras Hindu University
Yvonne J. Pendleton
University of Central Florida
Annemieke Petrignani
University of Amsterdam
Thomas Pino
University Paris-Saclay
E. Puga
European Space Agency (ESA)
Naseem Rangwala
NASA Ames Research Center
Mathias Rapacioli
UMR5626
Alessandra Ricca
SETI Institute
J. Roman-Duval
Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI)
Joseph Roser
SETI Institute
Evelyne Roueff
Paris Observatory
Gaël Rouillé
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
Farid Salama
NASA Ames Research Center
Dinalva A. Sales
Estatística e Física
Karin Sandstrom
University of California at San Diego (UCSD)
Peter Sarre
University of Nottingham
Ella Sciamma-O’Brien
NASA Ames Research Center
Kris Sellgren
Ohio State University
Sachindev S. Shenoy
Space Science Institute
D. Teyssier
European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)
Richard D. Thomas
Stockholm University
Aditya Togi
Texas State University
Laurent Verstraete
Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
Adolf N. Witt
University of Toledo
A. Wootten
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
H. Zettergren
Stockholm University
Yong Zhang
Sun Yat-Sen University
Ziwei E. Zhang
RIKEN
Junfeng Zhen
Deep Space Exploration Laboratory (DSEL)
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 685 A73Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Atom and Molecular Physics and Optics
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/202346747