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

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 (HVDCCs), which are a category of peculiar molecular clouds found in the central molecular zone of our Galaxy. A list of HVDCCs in the area −1.°4 ≤ l ≤ +2.°0, −0.°25 ≤ b ≤ +0.°25 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 pointlike massive objects, local energetic events, or cloud-to-cloud collisions.