An 80 pc Long Massive Molecular Filament in the Galactic Mid-Plane

TL;DR

This paper presents a detailed study of an 80 parsec long massive molecular filament in the Galactic mid-plane, highlighting its properties and potential role in star formation, and classifying it as a specific filament type.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of Massive Molecular Filaments (MMFs), characterized by their mass, length, and velocity coherence, and discusses their significance in the context of filament diversity.

Findings

The filament is 80 pc long with a coherent velocity structure.

MMFs are aligned with the Galactic Plane and resemble dust lanes in spiral galaxies.

The study suggests MMFs are a distinct class of filaments involved in star formation.

Abstract

The ubiquity of filaments in star forming regions on a range of scales is clear, yet their role in the star formation process remains in question. We suggest that there are distinct classes of filaments which are responsible for their observed diversity in star-forming regions. An example of a massive molecular filament in the Galactic mid-plane formed at the intersection of UV-driven bubbles which displays a coherent velocity structure (< 4 km/s) over 80 pc is presented. We classify such sources as Massive Molecular Filaments (MMFs; M > 10^4 Msun, length > 10 pc, velocity gradient < 5 km/s) and suggest that MMFs are just one of the many different classes of filaments discussed in the literature today. Many MMFs are aligned with the Galactic Plane and may be akin to the dark dust lanes seen in Grand Design Spirals.