No Arabic abstract
The interstellar bubble RCW 120 seen around a type O runaway star is driven by the stellar wind and the ionising radiation emitted by the star. The boundary between the stellar wind and interstellar medium (ISM) is associated with the arc-shaped mid-infrared dust emission around the star within the HII region.
Context. RCW 120 is a well-studied, nearby Galactic HII region with ongoing star formation in its surroundings. Previous work has shown that it displays a bubble morphology at mid-infrared wavelengths and has a massive layer of collected neutral material seen at sub-mm wavelengths. Given the well-defined photo-dissociation region (PDR) boundary and collected layer, it is an excellent laboratory to study the collect and collapse process of triggered star formation. Using Herschel Space Observatory data at 100, 160, 250, 350, and 500 micron, in combination with Spitzer and APEX-LABOCA data, we can for the first time map the entire spectral energy distribution of an HII region at high angular resolution. Aims. We seek a better understanding of RCW120 and its local environment by analysing its dust temperature distribution. Additionally, we wish to understand how the dust emissivity index, beta, is related to the dust temperature. Methods. We determine dust temperatures in selected regions of the RCW 120 field by fitting their spectral energy distribution (SED), derived using aperture photometry. Additionally, we fit the SED extracted from a grid of positions to create a temperature map. Results. We find a gradient in dust temperature, ranging from >30 K in the interior of RCW 120, to ~20K for the material collected in the PDR, to ~10K toward local infrared dark clouds and cold filaments. Our results suggest that RCW 120 is in the process of destroying the PDR delineating its bubble morphology. The leaked radiation from its interior may influence the creation of the next generation of stars. We find support for an anti-correlation between the fitted temperature and beta, in rough agreement with what has been found previously. The extended wavelength coverage of the Herschel data greatly increases the reliability of this result.
Little is known about how high-mass stars form. Around 30% of the young high-mass stars in the Galaxy are observed at the edges of ionized (HII) regions. Therefore these are places of choice to study the earliest stages of high-mass star formation, especially towards the most massive condensations. High-spatial resolution observations in the millimeter range might reveal how these stars form and how they assemble their mass. We want to study the fragmentation process down to the 0.01~pc scale in the most massive condensation observed at the south-western edge of the HII region RCW~120 where the most massive Herschel cores ($sim$124~$M_{odot}$ in average) could form high-mass stars. Using ALMA 3~mm continuum observations towards the densest and most massive millimetric condensation (Condensation 1) of RCW~120, we used the getimages and getsources algorithms to extract the sources detected with ALMA and obtained their physical parameters. The fragmentation of the hersche cores is discussed through their Jeans mass to understand the properties of the future stars. We extracted 18 fragments from the ALMA continuum observation at 3~mm towards 8 cores detected with Herschel, whose mass and deconvolved size range from 2~$M_{odot}$ to 32~$M_{odot}$ and from 1.6~mpc to 28.8~mpc, respectively. The low degree of fragmentation observed, regarding to the thermal Jeans fragmentation, suggests that the observed fragmentation is inconsistent with ideal gravitational fragmentation and other ingredients such as turbulence or magnetic fields should be added in order to explain it. Finally, the range of fragments mass indicates that the densest condensation of RCW~120 is a favourable place for the formation of high-mass stars with the presence of a probable UCHII region associated with the 27~$M_{odot}$ Fragment 1 of Core 2.
The H II region RCW120 is a well-known object, which is often considered as a target to verify theoretical models of gas and dust dynamics in the interstellar medium. However, the exact geometry of RCW120 is still a matter of debate. In this work, we analyse observational data on molecular emission in RCW120 and show that 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1) lines are fitted by a 2D model representing a ring-like face-on structure. The changing of the C18O(3-2) line profile from double-peaked to single-peaked from the dense molecular Condensation 1 might be a signature of stalled expansion in this direction. In order to explain a self-absorption dip of the 13CO(2-1) and 13CO(3-2) lines, we suggest that RCW120 is surrounded by a diffuse molecular cloud, and find confirmation of this cloud on a map of interstellar extinction. Optically thick 13CO(2-1) emission and the infrared 8 um PAH band form a neutral envelope of the H II region resembling a ring, while the envelope breaks into separate clumps on images made with optically thin C18O(2-1) line and far-infrared dust emission.
We present a characterization of the dust in the Wolf-Rayet (WR) nebula RCW 58 around the WN8h star WR 40 using archival infrared (IR) observations from WISE and Herschel and radio observations from ATCA. We selected two clumps, free from contamination from material along the line of sight and located towards southern regions in RCW 58, as representative of the general properties of this WR nebula. Their optical, IR and radio properties are then modelled using the photoionization code Cloudy, which calculates a self-consistent spatial distribution of dust and gas properties. Two populations of dust grains are required to model the IR SED: a population of small grains with sizes 0.002-0.01 $mu$m, which is found throughout the clumps, and a population of large grains, with sizes up to 0.9 $mu$m, located further from the star. Moreover, the clumps have very high dust-to-gas ratios, which present a challenge for their origin. Our model supports the hypothesis that RCW 58 is distributed in a ring-like structure rather than a shell, and we estimate a mass of $sim$2.5 M$_odot$. This suggests that the mass of the progenitor of WR 40 was about $approx40^{+2}_{-3}$ M$_odot$. The ring morphology, low nebular mass, large dust grain size and high dust-to-gas ratio lead us to propose that RCW 58 has formed through a common envelope channel, similar to what has been proposed for M 1-67.
By means of different physical mechanisms, the expansion of HII regions can promote the formation of new stars of all masses. RCW 120 is a nearby Galactic HII region where triggered star formation occurs. This region is well-studied - there being a wealth of existing data - and is nearby. However, it is surrounded by dense regions for which far infrared data is essential to obtain an unbiased view of the star formation process and in particular to establish whether very young protostars are present. We attempt to identify all Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), especially those previously undetected at shorter wavelengths, to derive their physical properties and obtain insight into the star formation history in this region. We use Herschel-PACS and -SPIRE images to determine the distribution of YSOs observed in the field. We use a spectral energy distribution fitting tool to derive the YSOs physical properties. Herschel-PACS and -SPIRE images confirm the existence of a young source and allow us to determine its nature as a high-mass (8-10 MSun) Class 0 object (whose emission is dominated by a massive envelope) towards the massive condensation 1 observed at (sub)-millimeter wavelengths. This source was not detected at 24 micron and only barely seen in the MISPGAL 70 micron data. Several other red sources are detected at Herschel wavelengths and coincide with the peaks of the millimeter condensations. SED fitting results for the brightest Herschel sources indicate that, apart from the massive Class 0 that forms in condensation 1, young low mass stars are forming around RCW 120. The YSOs observed on the borders of RCW 120 are younger than its ionizing star, which has an age of about 2.5 Myr.