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Register a new userDetermining the relative evolutionary stages of very young massive star formation regions
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We have recently completed an observing program with the Australia Telescope Compact Array towards massive star formation regions traced by 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission. We found the molecular cores could be separated into groups based on their association with/without methanol maser and 24 GHz continuum emission. Analysis of the molecular and ionised gas properties suggested the cores within the groups may be at different evolutionary stages. In this contribution we derive the column densities and temperatures of the cores from the NH3 emission and investigate if this can be used as an indicator of the relative evolutionary stages of cores in the sample. The majority of cores are well fit using single-temperature large velocity gradient models, and exhibit a range of temperatures from ~10 K to >200 K. Under the simple but reasonable assumption that molecular gas in the cores will heat up and become less quiescent with age due to feedback from the powering source(s), the molecular gas kinetic temperature combined with information of the core kinematics seems a promising probe of relative core age in the earliest evolutionary stages of massive star formation.
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We report sensitive ATCA radio-continuum observations toward IRAS 15596-5301 and 16272-4837, two luminous objects (> 2x10^4 Lsun) thought to represent massive star-forming regions in early stages of evolution (due to previously undetected radio emission at the 1-sigma level of 2 mJy per beam). Also reported are 1.2-millimeter continuum and a series of molecular-line observations made with the SEST telescope. For IRAS 15596-5301, the observations reveal the presence of three distinct compact radio-continuum sources associated with a dense molecular core. We suggest that this core contains a cluster of B stars which are exciting compact HII regions that are in pressure equilibrium with the dense molecular surroundings. No radio continuum emission was detected from IRAS 16272-4837 (3-sigma limit of 0.2 mJy). However, a dense molecular core has been detected. The high luminosity and lack of radio emission from this massive core suggests that it hosts an embedded young massive protostar that is still undergoing an intense accretion phase. This scenario is supported by the observed characteristics of the line profiles and the presence of a bipolar outflow detected from observations of the SiO emission. We suggest that IRAS 16272-4837 is a bona fide massive star- forming region in a very early evolutionary stage, being the precursor of an ultra compact HII region.
Stars mostly form in groups consisting of a few dozen to several ten thousand members. For 30 years, theoretical models provide a basic concept of how such star clusters form and develop: they originate from the gas and dust of collapsing molecular clouds. The conversion from gas to stars being incomplete, the left over gas is expelled, leading to cluster expansion and stars becoming unbound. Observationally, a direct confirmation of this process has proved elusive, which is attributed to the diversity of the properties of forming clusters. Here we take into account that the true cluster masses and sizes are masked, initially by the surface density of the background and later by the still present unbound stars. Based on the recent observational finding that in a given star-forming region the star formation efficiency depends on the local density of the gas, we use an analytical approach combined with mbox{N-body simulations, to reveal} evolutionary tracks for young massive clusters covering the first 10 Myr. Just like the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a measure for the evolution of stars, these tracks provide equivalent information for clusters. Like stars, massive clusters form and develop faster than their lower-mass counterparts, explaining why so few massive cluster progenitors are found.
We have observed the HN13C J=1-0 and DNC J=1-0 lines toward 18 massive clumps, including infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) and high-mass protostellar objects (HMPOs), by using the Nobeyama Radio Observatory 45 m telescope. We have found that the HN13C emission is stronger than the DNC emission toward all the observed sources. The averaged DNC/HNC ratio is indeed lower toward the observed high-mass sources (0.009pm0.005) than toward the low-mass starless and star-forming cores (0.06). The kinetic temperature derived from the NH3 (J, K) = (1, 1) and (2, 2) line intensities is higher toward the observed high-mass sources than toward the low-mass cores. However the DNC/HNC ratio of some IRDCs involving the Spitzer 24 {mu}m sources is found to be lower than that of HMPOs, although the kinetic temperature of the IRDCs is lower than that of the HMPOs. This implies that the DNC/HNC ratio does not depend only on the current kinetic temperature. With the aid of chemical model simulations, we discuss how the DNC/HNC ratio decreases after the birth of protostars. We suggest that the DNC/HNC ratio in star-forming cores depends on the physical conditions and history in their starless-core phase, such as its duration time and the gas kinetic temperature.
We observed three high-mass star-forming regions in the W3 high-mass star formation complex with the Submillimeter Array and IRAM 30 m telescope. These regions, i.e. W3 SMS1 (W3 IRS5), SMS2 (W3 IRS4) and SMS3, are in different evolutionary stages and are located within the same large-scale environment, which allows us to study rotation and outflows as well as chemical properties in an evolutionary sense. While we find multiple mm continuum sources toward all regions, these three sub-regions exhibit different dynamical and chemical properties, which indicates that they are in different evolutionary stages. Even within each subregion, massive cores of different ages are found, e.g. in SMS2, sub-sources from the most evolved UCHII region to potential starless cores exist within 30 000 AU of each other. Outflows and rotational structures are found in SMS1 and SMS2. Evidence for interactions between the molecular cloud and the HII regions is found in the 13CO channel maps, which may indicate triggered star formation.
We present deep, wide-field J, H and Ks images taken with IRIS2 on the Anglo Australian Telescope, towards the massive star formation region G305.2+0.2. Combined with 3.6, 4.5, 5.8 and 8.0 micron data from the GLIMPSE survey on the Spitzer Space Telescope, we investigate the properties of the embedded stellar populations. After removing contamination from foreground stars we separate the sources based on their IR colour. Strong extended emission in the GLIMPSE images hampers investigation of the most embedded sources towards the known sites of massive star formation. However, we find a sizeable population of IR excess sources in the surrounding region free from these completeness effects. Investigation reveals the recent star formation activity in the region is more widespread than previously known. Stellar density plots show the embedded cluster in the region, G305.24+0.204, is offset from the dust emission. We discuss the effect of this cluster on the surrounding area and argue it may have played a role in triggering sites of star formation within the region. Finally, we investigate the distribution of IR excess sources towards the cluster, in particular their apparent lack towards the centre compared with its immediate environs.
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