No Arabic abstract
(abridged) We present the results of an extensive infrared study of the massive star-forming region G9.62+0.19. The data cover information from broad- and narrow-band filters in the wavelength range from 1 to 19 micrometer and are obtained with ESOs infrared cameras ISAAC and TIMMI2 and with SpectroCam-10 (Mt. Palomar). The high sensitivity and resolution provided by these facilities revealed intriguing new details of this star-forming region and especially about the embedded hot molecular core (HMC) - component F. We analyse the newly found infrared sub-structure of four objects in this HMC region. While one of these objects (F2) is probably a foreground field star, the nature of the brightest object in the near-infrared there (F1) remains somewhat enigmatic. Our new astrometry proves that this object is not coincident with the peak of the molecular line emission of the HMC, but displaced by 1.7 arcsecs (nearly 10000 AU on a linear scale). We estimate this object to be an additional embedded object with a dense dust shell. Very near the HMC location we find L band emission which strongly rises in flux towards longer wavelengths. We presume that this emission (F4) arises from the envelope of the HMC which is known to be associated with a molecular outflow roughly aligned along the line of sight. Thus, the clearing effect of this outflow causes strong deviations from spherical symmetry which might allow infrared emission from the HMC to escape through the outflow cavities. This presents the first direct detection of an HMC at a wavelength as short as 3.8 micron. At 11.7 and 18.75 micron, the HMC counterpart F4 ultimately proves to be the most luminous IR source within the G9.62+0.19-F region.
We present new high resolution and high sensitivity multi-frequency VLA radio continuum observations of the G9.62+0.19-F hot molecular core. We detect for the first time faint centimetric radio continuum emission at the position of the core. The centimetric continuum spectrum of the source is consistent with thermal emission from ionised gas. This is the first direct evidence that a newly born massive star is powering the G9.62+0.19-F hot core.
Near-infrared surveys of high-mass star-forming regions start to shed light onto their stellar content. A particular class of objects found in these regions, the so-called massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) are surrounded by dense circumstellar material. Several near- and mid-infrared diagnostic tools are used to infer the physical characteristics and geometry of this circumstellar matter. Near-infrared hydrogen emission lines provide evidence for a disk-wind. The profiles of the first overtone of the CO band-heads, originating in the inner 10 AU from the central star, are well fitted assuming a keplerian rotating disk. The mid-infrared spectral energy distribution requires the presence of a more extended envelope containing dust at a temperature of about 200 K. CRIRES observations of CO fundamental absorption lines confirm the presence of a cold envelope. We discuss the evolutionary status of these objects.
Stellar feedback from high-mass stars (e.g., H{sc ii} regions) can strongly influence the surrounding interstellar medium and regulate star formation. Our new ALMA observations reveal sequential high-mass star formation taking place within one sub-virial filamentary clump (the G9.62 clump) in the G9.62+0.19 complex. The 12 dense cores (MM 1-12) detected by ALMA are at very different evolutionary stages, from starless core phase to UC H{sc ii} region phase. Three dense cores (MM6, MM7/G, MM8/F) are associated with outflows. The mass-velocity diagrams of outflows associated with MM7/G and MM8/F can be well fitted with broken power laws. The mass-velocity diagram of SiO outflow associated with MM8/F breaks much earlier than other outflow tracers (e.g., CO, SO, CS, HCN), suggesting that SiO traces newly shocked gas, while the other molecular lines (e.g., CO, SO, CS, HCN) mainly trace the ambient gas continuously entrained by outflow jets. Five cores (MM1, MM3, MM5, MM9, MM10) are massive starless core candidates whose masses are estimated to be larger than 25 M$_{sun}$, assuming a dust temperature of $leq$ 20 K. The shocks from the expanding H{sc ii} regions (B & C) to the west may have great impact on the G9.62 clump through compressing it into a filament and inducing core collapse successively, leading to sequential star formation. Our findings suggest that stellar feedback from H{sc ii} regions may enhance the star formation efficiency and suppress the low-mass star formation in adjacent pre-existing massive clumps.
K-band spectra of young stellar candidates in four southern hemisphere clusters have been obtained with the near-infrared spectrograph GNIRS in Gemini South. The clusters are associated with IRAS sources that have colours characteristic of ultracompact HII regions. Spectral types were obtained by comparison of the observed spectra with those of a NIR library; the results include the spectral classification of nine massive stars and seven objects confirmed as background late-type stars. Two of the studied sources have K-band spectra compatible with those characteristic of very hot stars, as inferred from the presence of Civ, Niii, and Nv emission lines at 2.078 micron, 2.116 micron, and 2.100 micron respectively. One of them, I16177 IRS1, has a K-band spectrum similar to that of Cyg OB2 7, an O3If* supergiant star. The nebular K-band spectrum of the associated UC Hii region shows the s-process [Kriii] and [Seiv] high excitation emission lines, previously identified only in planetary nebula. One young stellar object (YSO) was found in each cluster, associated with either the main IRAS source or a nearby resolved MSX component, confirming the results obtained from previous NIR photometric surveys. The distances to the stars were derived from their spectral types and previously determined JHK magnitudes; they agree well with the values obtained from the kinematic method, except in the case of IRAS15408-5356, for which the spectroscopic distance is about a factor two smaller than the kinematic value.
Context: The Red MSX Source (RMS) survey is a multi-wavelength campaign of follow-up observations of a colour-selected sample of candidate massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) in the galactic plane. This survey is returning the largest well-selected sample of MYSOs to date, while identifying other dust contaminant sources with similar mid-infrared colours including a large number of new ultra-compact (UC)HII regions. Aims:To measure the far-infrared (IR) flux, which lies near the peak of the spectral energy distribution (SED) of MYSOs and UCHII regions, so that, together with distance information, the luminosity of these sources can be obtained. Methods:Less than 50% of RMS sources are associated with IRAS point sources with detections at 60 micron and 100 micron, though the vast majority are visible in Spitzer MIPSGAL or IRAS Galaxy Atlas (IGA) images. However, standard aperture photometry is not appropriate for these data due to crowding of sources and strong spatially variable far-IR background emission in the galactic plane. A new technique using a 2-dimensional fit to the background in an annulus around each source is therefore used to obtain far-IR photometry for young RMS sources. Results:Far-IR fluxes are obtained for a total of 1113 RMS candidates identified as young sources. Of these 734 have flux measurements using IGA 60 micron and 100 micron images and 724 using MIPSGAL 70 micron images, with 345 having measurements in both data sets.