http://arxiv.org/abs/1310.5631
This paper reviews the major advances achieved in the Orion Nebula through the use of integral field spectroscopy (IFS). Since the early work of Vasconcelos and collaborators in 2005, the capability of this technique has allowed to investigate the global properties of the nebula and its internal morphologies, providing new clues to constrain a better picture of its 3D structure. This spectroscopic technique has permitted the discovery of shock-heated zones at the leading working surfaces of prominent Herbig-Haro objects as well as the first attempt to determine the chemical composition of Orion protoplanetary disks, also known as proplyds. The analysis of these morphologies using IFS has given us new insights into the abundance discrepancy problem, a long-standing and unresolved issue that threatens the reliability of our current methods of determining metallicities in the Universe from the analysis of HII regions. Results imply that high-density clumps and high-velocity flows may play an active role in the production of such discrepancies. Future investigations based on the large-scale IFS mosaic of Orion will be very valuable for exploring how the integrated effect of small-scale structures may have impact at larger scales in the framework of star-forming regions.
Date added: Tue, 22 Oct 13