近日，美国哈佛大学天文学系的Ralf Konietzka及其研究团队取得一项新进展。经过不懈努力，他们发现拉德克里夫波在振荡。相关研究成果已于2024年2月20日在国际权威学术期刊《自然》上发表。

据悉，我们的太阳位于被称为拉德克利夫波的2.7千兆赫(kpc)长的致密气体云正弦链的300秒差距（pc）内。该结构的波状形状是通过三维尘埃测绘发现的，但对振荡运动的初步运动学搜索尚无定论。

该研究团队提供的证据表明，拉德克里夫波在穿过银道面振荡的同时，也在从银道中心径向漂移。研究人员使用¹²CO的视距速度测量和年轻星团的3D速度来显示，在空间上与拉德克利夫波相关的最大规模恒星形成区域(包括猎户座、仙父座、北美和天鹅座X)的运动就好像它们是由银河系势能引力加速度驱动的振荡波的一部分。

通过将拉德克里夫波视为相干振荡结构，研究人员可以独立于银河系局部质量分布推导出它的运动，并直接测量银河系势的局部性质以及太阳的垂直振荡周期。此外，对拉德克利夫波的测量结果显示，它正从银河系中心径向向外漂移。这一发现暗示着，今天我们所观察到的不断膨胀的局部气泡星团，可能最初就诞生于拉德克利夫波之中，由超新星的爆发所形成。

附：英文原文

Title: The Radcliffe Wave is Oscillating

Author: Konietzka, Ralf, Goodman, Alyssa A., Zucker, Catherine, Burkert, Andreas, Alves, Joo, Foley, Michael, Swiggum, Cameren, Koller, Maria, Miret-Roig, Nria

Issue&Volume: 2024-02-20

Abstract: Our Sun lies within 300 pc of the 2.7-kpc-long sinusoidal chain of dense gas clouds known as the Radcliffe Wave. The structure’s wave-like shape was discovered using 3D dust mapping, but initial kinematic searches for oscillatory motion were inconclusive. Here we present evidence that the Radcliffe Wave is oscillating through the Galactic plane while also drifting radially away from the Galactic Center. We use measurements of line-of-sight velocity for ¹²CO and 3D velocities of young stellar clusters to show that the most massive star-forming regions spatially associated with the Radcliffe Wave (including Orion, Cepheus, North America, and Cygnus X) move as if they are part of an oscillating wave driven by the gravitational acceleration of the Galactic potential. By treating the Radcliffe Wave as a coherently oscillating structure, we can derive its motion independently of the local Galactic mass distribution, and directly measure local properties of the Galactic potential as well as the Sun’s vertical oscillation period. In addition, the measured drift of the Radcliffe Wave radially outward from the Galactic Center suggests that the cluster whose supernovae ultimately created today’s expanding Local Bubble may have been born in the Radcliffe Wave.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07127-3

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07127-3