Extending the limits of globule detection -- ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey Observations of interstellar clouds

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery and detailed analysis of a faint, cold bipolar globule using the ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey, revealing its physical properties and chemical composition, and highlighting a new class of small, low-brightness interstellar clouds.

Contribution

It extends the detection limits of globules by identifying a new class of small, faint interstellar clouds through multiwavelength observations and detailed chemical analysis.

Findings

Discovered a faint bipolar globule with specific temperature and size.

Determined the globule's density and chemical composition.

Identified an overabundance of 13CO likely due to isotope-selective processes.

Abstract

A faint $I_{\rm 170}=4$ MJysr$^{-1}$ bipolar globule was discovered with the ISOPHOT 170 $\mu$m Serendipity Survey (ISOSS). ISOSS J 20246+6541 is a cold ($T_{\rm d}\approx 14.5$ K) FIR source without an IRAS pointsource counterpart. In the Digitized Sky Survey B band it is seen as a 3\arcmin size bipolar nebulosity with an average excess surface brightness of $\approx 26$ mag/$\square $\arcsec . The CO column density distribution determined by multi-isotopic, multi-level CO measurements with the IRAM-30m telescope agrees well with the optical appearance. An average hydrogen column density of $\approx 10^{21}$cm$^{-2}$ was derived from both the FIR and CO data. Using a kinematic distance estimate of 400 pc the NLTE modelling of the CO, HCO$^+$, and CS measurements gives a peak density of $\approx 10^4$cm$^{-3}$. The multiwavelength data characterise ISOSS 20246+6541 as a representative of a class of globules which has not been discovered so far due to their small angular size and low 100$\mu $m brightness. A significant overabundance of $^{13}$CO is found $X(^{13}CO) \ge 150\times X(C^{18}O)$. This is likely due to isotope selective chemical processes.