13CO filaments in the Taurus molecular cloud

Artikel i vetenskaplig tidskrift, 2014

We have carried out a search for filamentary structures in the Taurus molecular cloud using 13CO line emission data from the Five Colleges Radio Astronomy Observatory survey of ∼100 deg2. We have used the topological analysis tool, Discrete Persistent Structures Extractor (DISPERSE), and post-processed its results to include a more strict definition of filaments that requires an aspect ratio of at least 3:1 and cross-section intensity profiles peaked on the spine of the filament. In the velocity-integrated intensity map only 10 of the hundreds of filamentary structures identified by DISPERSE comply with our criteria. Unlike Herschel analyses, which find a characteristic width for filaments of ∼0.1 pc, we find a much broader distribution of profile widths in our structures, with a peak at 0.4 pc. Furthermore, even if the identified filaments are cylindrical objects, their complicated velocity structure and velocity dispersions imply that they are probably gravitationally unbound. Analysis of velocity channel maps reveals the existence of hundreds of `velocity-coherent' filaments. The distribution of their widths is peaked at lower values (0.2 pc) while the fluctuation of their peak intensities is indicative of stochastic origin. These filaments are suppressed in the integrated intensity map due to the blending of diffuse emission from different velocities. Conversely, integration over velocities can cause filamentary structures to appear. Such apparent filaments can also be traced, using the same methodology, in simple simulated maps consisting of randomly placed cores. They have profile shapes similar to observed filaments and contain most of the simulated cores.