2MASS wide field extinction maps. II. The Ophiuchus and the Lupus cloud complexes

Author(s)
M. Lombardi, C. J. Lada, J. Alves
Abstract

We present an extinction map of a ~1700 deg sq region that encloses the Ophiuchus, the Lupus, and the Pipe dark complexes using 42 million stars from the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS) point source catalog. The use of a robust and optimal near-infrared method to map dust column density(nicer, described in Lombardi & Alves 2001, A&A, 377, 1023)allow us to detect extinction as low as AK = 0.05 mag with a2-σ significance, and still to have a resolution of 3 arcmin on our map. We also present a novel, statistically sound method to characterize the small-scale inhomogeneities in molecular clouds.Finally, we investigate the cloud structure function, and show that significant deviations from the results predicted by turbulent models are observed.

Organisation(s)
Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s)
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Centro Astronómico Hispano Alemán (CAHA), European Southern Observatory (Germany)
Journal
Astronomy & Astrophysics
Volume
489
Pages
143-156
ISSN
0004-6361
Publication date
10-2008
Peer reviewed
Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012
103004 Astrophysics
Keywords
Portal url
https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/826265cf-695b-4c65-828c-4da4c6165405