Catalog of High Velocity Dispersion Compact Clouds in the Central Molecular Zone of Our Galaxy

TL;DR

This paper presents an automated method to identify high velocity dispersion compact clouds in the Galactic Center, resulting in a catalog of 184 such clouds with detailed physical and morphological data, revealing potential energetic interactions.

Contribution

The study introduces a new automated identification procedure for HVCCs in crowded regions, expanding the catalog of these peculiar molecular clouds in the Galactic Center.

Findings

Identified 184 HVCCs in the central molecular zone.

Provided physical parameters and morphological classifications for each HVCC.

Highlighted potential origins involving massive objects or energetic events.

Abstract

This study developed an automated identification procedure for compact clouds with broad velocity widths in the spectral line data cubes of highly crowded regions. The procedure was applied to the CO J=3-2 line data, obtained using the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, to identify 184 high velocity dispersion compact clouds (HVCCs), which is a category of peculiar molecular clouds found in the central molecular zone of our galaxy. A list of HVCCs in the area -1.4{\deg}<l<+2.0{\deg}, -0.25{\deg}<b<+0.25{\deg} was presented with their physical parameters, CO J=3-2/J=1-0 intensity ratios, and morphological classifications. Consequently, the list provides several intriguing sources that may have been driven by encounters with point-like massive objects, local energetic events, or cloud-to-cloud collisions.