# Wide-Field $^{12}$CO ($J=2-1$) and $^{13}$CO ($J=2-1$) Observations toward the Aquila Rift and Serpens Molecular Cloud Complexes. I. Molecular Clouds and Their Physical Properties

## TL;DR

This study uses wide-field $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO observations to analyze the structure, physical properties, and dynamics of molecular clouds in the Aquila Rift and Serpens regions, revealing complex cloud interactions and large-scale flows.

## Contribution

First detailed wide-field $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO survey of these regions, identifying 61 clouds and analyzing their physical and kinematic properties with implications for cloud formation.

## Key findings

- $^{13}$CO traces extinction structures better than $^{12}$CO.
- Most clouds are near virial equilibrium with large dispersion.
- Large-scale arcs and converging velocity components suggest bubble-driven cloud evolution.

## Abstract

We present results of wide-field $^{12}$CO ($J = 2 - 1$) and $^{13}$CO ($J = 2 - 1$) observations toward the Aquila Rift and Serpens molecular cloud complexes (25$^\circ < l < 33^\circ$ and $1^\circ < b < 6^\circ$) at an angular resolution of 3$'$.4 ($\approx$ 0.25 pc) and at a velocity resolution of 0.079 km s$^{-1}$ with the velocity coverage of $-5$ km s$^{-1} < V_{\rm LSR} <$ 35 km s$^{-1}$. We found that the $^{13}$CO emission better traces the structures seen in the extinction map and derived the $X_{\rm ^{13}CO}$-factor of this region. Applying \texttt{SCIMES} to the $^{13}$CO data cube, we identified 61 clouds and derived their masses, radii, and line widths. The line-width-radius relation of the identified clouds basically follows those of nearby molecular clouds. Majority of the identified clouds are close to virial equilibrium although the dispersion is large. By inspecting the $^{12}$CO channel maps by eye, we found several arcs which are spatially extended to 0.2 $-$ 3 degree in length. In the longitude-velocity diagrams of $^{12}$CO, we also found the two spatially-extended components which appear to converge toward Serpens South and W40 region. The existence of two components with different velocities and arcs suggests that large-scale expanding bubbles and/or flows play a role in the formation and evolution of the Serpens South and W40 cloud.