Search for starless clumps in the ATLASGAL survey
J. Tackenberg, H. Beuther, Th. Henning, F. Schuller, M. Wienen, F., Motte, F. Wyrowski, S. Bontemps, L. Bronfman, K. Menten, L. Testi, B. Lefloch

TL;DR
This paper presents an unbiased survey of starless gas clumps in a specific sky region, identifying 210 candidates and analyzing their properties to understand early massive star formation stages.
Contribution
It provides the first uniform, large-area catalog of starless clumps, including their physical characteristics and potential for forming massive stars.
Findings
Identified 210 starless clumps with high column densities.
Most clumps are capable of forming massive stars, but few exceed 40 solar masses.
Estimated lifetime of massive starless clumps is around 60,000 years.
Abstract
In this study, we present an unbiased sample of the earliest stages of massive star formation across 20 square-degree of the sky. Within the region 10deg < l < 20deg and |b| < 1deg, we search the ATLASGAL survey at 870 micron for dense gas condensations. These clumps are carefully examined for indications of ongoing star formation using YSOs from the GLIMPSE source catalog as well as sources in the 24 micron MIPSGAL images, to search for starless clumps. We calculate the column densities as well as the kinematic distances and masses for sources where the v_lsr is known from spectroscopic observations. Within the given region, we identify 210 starless clumps with peak column densities > 1 x 10e23 cm^(-2). In particular, we identify potential starless clumps on the other side of the Galaxy. The sizes of the clumps range between 0.1 pc and 3 pc with masses between a few tens of solar…
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