What is it about?
Massive stars are able to carve out regions of ionised hydrogen (HII) in the area surrounding where they form. Such HII regions are readily observable throughout the Galaxy and can provide insight into the physical processes associated with massive star formation. This paper introduces a statistical shape analysis method developed to group HII regions via their observed shapes. We find that certain physical parameters such as age and mass are likely to be associated with the resultant groups of HII regions sharing a common morphology.
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Why is it important?
Mathematical shape provides an intrinsic, quantifiable property of an object. The use of shape in astronomy is well documented. The use of such a robust shape analysis technique could lead to an automated classification scheme for HII regions. This would provide us with a wealth of information as to the physical properties associated with such regions and their massive star sources, which is key to understanding Galactic evolution. The shape analysis method presented here also provides a means to compare the observed HII regions with those generated from computer simulations, which is the focus of our future work.
Perspectives
This was the first publication resulting from my PhD research. I, therefore, gained a lot of experience with the peer-review process and I am grateful for the useful comments from the anonymous reviewer. The publication of this work and subsequent presentation at a conference has led to an ongoing collaboration where we are using the methods developed in this paper to test the efficacy of computer simulated HII regions.
Justyn Campbell-White
University of Kent
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Shape analysis of H ii regions – I. Statistical clustering, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, April 2018, Oxford University Press (OUP),
DOI: 10.1093/mnras/sty954.
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