Giant molecular cloud G18.1-0.3+51 associated with HII regions and supernova remnant in the 3-kpc expanding ring

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution CO-line data to analyze the G18.1-0.3+51 star-forming complex, revealing its association with HII regions and a supernova remnant, and determining its distance and physical properties.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of the G18 complex, including its distance, mass, and dynamic state, and proposes a new model for its star formation activity.

Findings

G18 is located at approximately 6.07 kpc in the 3-kpc expanding ring.

The molecular mass of the GMC is about 3×10^5 solar masses.

The central region of the cloud is dynamically active, while the outer parts are stable.

Abstract

Analyzing the high-resolution CO-line survey of the Galactic plane with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope (FUGIN), we show that the star-forming complex G18.15-0.30+51 (G18) at radial velocity of 51 \kms is {a tight triple association of a giant molecular cloud (GMC), HII regions, and a supernova remnant (SNR).} The kinematical distance of G18 is determined to be $d=3.9\pm 0.2$ kpc for near solution for circular rotation, $12\pm 0.2$ kpc for far solution, or $d=6.1\pm 0.1$, if it is in the 3-kpc expanding ring. The HI-line absorption of radio continuum from the HII regions constrains the distance to $5.6 \lesssim d_{\rm SNR}\le 7.6$ kpc. The $\Sigma-D$ (radio brightness-diameter) relation yields the distance to the SNR of $d_{\rm SNR}=10.1^{+11.5}_{-4.7}$ kpc, allowing for a minimum distance of 5.4 kpc. From these we uniquely determined the distance of G18 to be $6.07\pm 0.13$ kpc in the 3-kpc expanding ring with the SNR being physically associated. The molecular mass of the GMC is estimated to be $M_{\rm mol}\sim 3\times 10^5 M_\odot$. The ratio of Virial to luminous molecular masses is greater than unity in the central region and decreases outward to $\lesssim 0.2$ at the cloud edge, indicating that the central region is dynamic, while the entire cloud is stable. We discuss the origin of the G18 triple system and propose a sustainable GMC model with continuous star formation.