Context. The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ), a ∼200 pc sized region around the Galactic Centre, is peculiar in that it shows a star formation rate (SFR) that is suppressed with respect to the available dense gas. To study the SFR in the CMZ, young stellar objects (YSOs) can be investigated. Here we present radio observations of 334 2.2 μm infrared sources that have been identified as YSO candidates.
Aims: Our goal is to investigate the presence of centimetre wavelength radio continuum counterparts to this sample of YSO candidates which we use to constrain the current SFR in the CMZ.
Methods: As part of the GLObal view on STAR formation (GLOSTAR) survey, D-configuration Very Large Array data were obtained for the Galactic Centre, covering −2° < l < 2° and −1° < b < 1° with a frequency coverage of 4-8 GHz. We matched YSOs with radio continuum sources based on selection criteria and classified these radio sources as potential H II regions and determined their physical properties.
Results: Of the 334 YSO candidates, we found 35 with radio continuum counterparts. We find that 94 YSOs are associated with dense dust condensations identified in the 870 μm ATLASGAL survey, of which 14 have a GLOSTAR counterpart. Of the 35 YSOs with radio counterparts, 11 are confirmed as H II regions based on their spectral indices and the literature. We estimated their Lyman continuum photon flux in order to estimate the mass of the ionising star. Combining these with known sources, the present-day SFR in the CMZ is calculated to be ∼0.068 M⊙ yr−1, which is ∼6.8% of the Galactic SFR. Candidate YSOs that lack radio counterparts may not have yet evolved to the stage of exhibiting an H II region or, conversely, are older and have dispersed their natal clouds. Since many lack dust emission, the latter is more likely. Our SFR estimate in the CMZ is in agreement with previous estimates in the literature.
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A naive Bayes classifier for identifying Class II YSOs
A naive Bayes classifier for identifying Class II YSOs has been constructed and applied to a region of the Northern Galactic Plane containing 8 million sources with good quality Gaia EDR3 parallaxes. The classifier uses the five features: Gaia G-band variability, WISE mid-infrared excess, UKIDSS and 2MASS near-infrared excess, IGAPS Hα excess, and overluminosity with respect to the main sequence. A list of candidate Class II YSOs is obtained by choosing a posterior threshold appropriate to the task at hand, balancing the competing demands of completeness and purity. At a threshold posterior greater than 0.5, our classifier identifies 6504 candidate Class II YSOs. At this threshold, we find a false positive rate around 0.02 per cent and a true positive rate of approximately 87 per cent for identifying Class II YSOs. The ROC curve rises rapidly to almost one with an area under the curve around 0.998 or better, indicating the classifier is efficient at identifying candidate Class II YSOs. Our map of these candidates shows what are potentially three previously undiscovered clusters or associations. When comparing our results to published catalogues from other young star classifiers, we find between one quarter and three quarters of high probability candidates are unique to each classifier, telling us no single classifier is finding all young stars.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10400652
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 521
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 354-388
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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