Early stages of massive star formation Sarah Ragan Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg Henrik Beuther, Thomas Henning Ted Bergin, Fabian Heitsch, David Wilner Early stages of massiverich cluster star formation Sarah Ragan Max Planck Institute for Astronomy Heidelberg Henrik Beuther, Thomas Henning Ted Bergin, Fabian Heitsch, David Wilner Perseus Taurus Perseus Taurus Ophiuchus Perseus Orion Taurus Ophiuchus Perseus Orion Taurus Ophiuchus Perseus ? Mid-IR Galactic plane surveys ~0.6 deg ~2 deg MSX 8μm survey Egan+1998, Carey+2000 [ISOCAM Perault+1996] Mid-IR Galactic plane surveys ~0.6 deg “Infrared-Dark Clouds” ~2 deg MSX 8μm survey Egan+1998, Carey+2000 [ISOCAM Perault+1996] Characterizing IRDCs with dust MSX 8μm SCUBA 850μm 2 3 Tdust ~ 10 - 20 K, Total mass: 10 - 10 Msun N ~ 1022 cm-2 , n ~ 105 cm-3 Egan+1998, Carey+2000, Rathborne+2006, Simon+2006, Ragan+2009, Vasyunina+2009, Peretto & Fuller 2009, Butler & Tan 2009 ... Cold dust in IRDCs: Bλ(20 K) Cold dust in IRDCs: Bλ(20 K) MIPS IRAC Cold dust in IRDCs: Bλ(20 K) SCUBA MIPS IRAC Cold dust in IRDCs: Bλ(20 K) SCUBA MIPS IRAC Herschel G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 160 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 160 250 G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 160 250 ATLASGAL G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 160 250 350 ATLASGAL ATLASGAL G11.11-0.12 IRDC from Spitzer to Herschel 8 24 70 100 160 250 350 500 ATLASGAL ATLASGAL ATLASGAL Henning+2010 Henning+2010 Extracting core properties Henning+2010 SPIRE vs SABOCA at 350um SPIRE vs SABOCA at 350um SPIRE vs SABOCA at 350um Probing physical properties of IRDCs with molecular lines + Pillai+2006, Ragan+2006, N2H CS Beuther & Sridharan 2007, Sakai+2008, Du+2008, Jackson+2008, Gibson+2009, Vasyunina+2010 ... Probing physical properties of IRDCs with molecular lines + Pillai+2006, Ragan+2006, N2H CS Beuther & Sridharan 2007, Sakai+2008, Du+2008, Jackson+2008, Gibson+2009, Vasyunina+2010 ... Understanding the small-scale structure and physics at work in IRDCs requires high angular resolution Ammonia in IRDCs: Ragan+ (submitted) Temperature see also Wang+2009, Devine+2011 Ammonia in IRDCs: Ragan+ (in prep) Kinematics IRDC19175 Plateau de Bure: + IRDCs in N2H Beuther & Henning 2009 IRDC19175 Plateau de Bure: + IRDCs in N2H Beuther & Henning 2009 Summary and looking forward Summary and looking forward • Galactic plane surveys Summary and looking forward • Galactic plane surveys • Infrared, (sub-)millimeter, and radio Summary and looking forward • Galactic plane surveys • Infrared, (sub-)millimeter, and radio • Outer Galaxy? Summary and looking forward • Galactic plane surveys • Infrared, (sub-)millimeter, and radio • Outer Galaxy? • Connecting IRDCs to star formation requires high-resolution follow-up Summary and looking forward • Galactic plane surveys • Infrared, (sub-)millimeter, and radio • Outer Galaxy? • Connecting IRDCs to star formation requires high-resolution follow-up • EVLA, NOEMA, and ALMA will play large roles in advancing our understanding of massive star formation..