Search for Remnant Clouds Associated with the TW Hya Association

TL;DR

This study searches for the parental molecular clouds of the TW Hya association using CO emission and Na I absorption, finding minimal remnant gas likely dissipated within the last million years.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed search for remnant molecular clouds associated with TWA, combining CO emission data with Na I absorption lines to constrain cloud distances.

Findings

No significant natal molecular gas detected near TWA.

Only small-scale or faint CO emission observed in candidate clouds.

Most remnant clouds have dissipated within ~1 million years.

Abstract

We report on a search for the parental molecular clouds of the TW Hya association (TWA), using CO emission and Na I absorption lines. TWA is the nearest young (~ 50 pc; ~ 10 Myr) stellar association, yet in spite of its youth, there are no detection of any associated natal molecular gas, as is the case for other typical young clusters. Using infrared maps as a guide, we conducted a CO cloud survey toward a region with a dust extinction of E(B-V) > 0.2 mag, or AV > 0.6 mag. CO emission is detected toward three IR dust clouds, and we reject one cloud from the TWA, as no interstellar Na absorption was detected from the nearby Hipparcos stars, implying that it is too distant to be related. The other two clouds exhibit only faint and small-scale CO emission. Interstellar Na I absorptions of Hipparcos targets, HIP 57809, HIP 64837, and HIP 64925 (at distances of 133, 81, and 101 pc, respectively) by these couds is also detected. We conclude that only a small fraction of the interstellar matter (ISM) toward the IR dust cloud is located at distance less than 100 pc, which may be all that is left of the remnant clouds of TWA; the remaining remnant cloud having dissipated in the last ~ 1 Myr. Such a short dissipation timescale may be due to an external perturbation or kinematic segregation that has a large stellar proper motion relative to the natal cloud.