Catalogue of 12CO(J = 1-0) and 13CO(J = 1-0) molecular clouds in the carina flare supershell

Abstract

We present a catalogue of 12CO(J - 1-0) and 13CO(J = 1-0) molecular clouds in the spatio-velocity range of the Carina Rare supershell, GSH 287+04-17. The data cover a region of ∼66 square degrees and were taken with the NANTEN 4 m telescope, at spatial and velocity resolutions of ∼ 21′.6 and 0.1 km s-1. Decomposition of the emission results in the identification of 15612CO clouds and 6013CO clouds, for which we provide observational and physical parameters. Previous work suggests the majority of the detected mass forms part of a comoving molecular cloud complex that is physically associated with the expanding shell. The cloud internal velocity dispersions, degree of virialization and size-linewidth relations are found to be consistent with those of other Galactic samples. However, the vertical distribution is heavily skewed towards high-altitudes. The robust association of high-z molecular clouds with a known supershell provides some observational backing for the theory that expanding shells contribute to the support of a high-altitude molecular layer. © 2008. Astronomical Society of Japan.