CMZoom: Survey Overview and First Data Release

The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, vol. 249, pp. 35

Abstract

Abstract We present an overview of the CMZoom survey and its first data release. CMZoom is the first blind, high-resolution survey of the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ; the inner 500 pc of the Milky Way) at wavelengths sensitive to the pre-cursors of high-mass stars. CMZoom is a 550 hr Large Program on the Submillimeter Array that mapped at 1.3 mm all of the gas and dust in the CMZ above a molecular hydrogen column density of 1023 cm−2 at a resolution of ∼3″ (0.1 pc). In this paper, we focus on the 1.3 mm dust continuum and its data release, but also describe CMZoom spectral line data which will be released in a forthcoming publication. While CMZoom detected many regions with rich and complex substructure, its key result is an overall deficit in compact substructures on 0.1–2 pc scales (the compact dense gas fraction: CDGF). In comparison with clouds in the Galactic disk, the CDGF in the CMZ is substantially lower, despite having much higher average column densities. CMZ clouds with high CDGFs are well-known sites of active star formation. The inability of most gas in the CMZ to form compact substructures is likely responsible for the dearth of star formation in the CMZ, surprising considering its high density. The factors responsible for the low CDGF are not yet understood but are plausibly due to the extreme environment of the CMZ, having far-reaching ramifications for our understanding of the star formation process across the cosmos.

Authors 21

1. Cara Battersby

   University of Connecticut · Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

   University of Connecticut, Department of Physics, 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269, USA

2. Eric Keto

   Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

3. Daniel L. Walker

   Atacama Large Millimeter Submillimeter Array · National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

   Affiliation as printed

   Joint ALMA Observatory, Alonso de Córdova 3107, Vitacura, Santiago, Chile

   National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan

4. Ashley T. Barnes

   University of Bonn

   Affiliation as printed

   Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, D-53121, Bonn, Germany

5. Daniel Callanan

   Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian · Liverpool John Moores University

   Affiliation as printed

   Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK

   Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

6. Adam G. Ginsburg

   University of Florida

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Florida Department of Astronomy, Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA

7. H Perry Hatchfield

   University of Connecticut

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Connecticut, Department of Physics, 196 Auditorium Road, Unit 3046, Storrs, CT 06269, USA

8. Jonathan D. Henshaw

   Max Planck Institute for Astronomy

   Affiliation as printed

   Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany

9. Jens Kauffmann

   Massachusetts Institute of Technology

   Affiliation as printed

   Haystack Observatory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 99 Millstone Road, Westford, MA 01886, USA

10. J. M. Diederik Kruijssen

    Heidelberg University

    Affiliation as printed

    Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstraße 12–14, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany

11. Steven N. Longmore

    Liverpool John Moores University

    Affiliation as printed

    Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University, 146 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L3 5RF, UK

12. Xing Lu

    National Astronomical Observatory of Japan

    Affiliation as printed

    National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo, 181-8588, Japan

13. Elisabeth A. C. Mills

    University of Kansas

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas, 1251 Wescoe Hall Drive, Lawrence, KS 66045, USA

14. T. Pillai

    Boston University

    Affiliation as printed

    Boston University Astronomy Department, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, USA

15. Qizhou Zhang

    Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

16. John Bally

    University of Colorado Boulder

    Affiliation as printed

    CASA, University of Colorado, 389-UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA

17. Natalie Butterfield
    Affiliation as printed

    Green Bank Observatory, 155 Observatory Rd, P.O. Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, USA

18. Y. Contreras Aachen Leiden Observatory

    Leiden University · Leiden Observatory

    Affiliation as printed

    Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9513, NL 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands

19. Luis C. Ho

    Peking University

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China

    Kavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, People's Republic of China

20. Nimesh Patel

    Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

21. Volker Tolls

    Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian

    Affiliation as printed

    Center for Astrophysics ∣ Harvard & Smithsonian, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA