Search

Context. This study is part of the CORE project, an IRAM/NOEMA large program consisting of observations of the millimeter continuum and molecular line emission towards 20 selected high-mass star-forming regions. The goal of the program is to search for circumstellar accretion disks, study the fragmentation process of molecular clumps, and investigate the chemical composition of the gas in these regions. Aims. We focus on IRAS 23385+6053, which is believed to be the least-evolved source of the CORE sample. This object is characterized by a compact molecular clump that is IR-dark shortward of 24 μm and is surrounded by a stellar cluster detected in the near-IR. Our aim is to study the structure and velocity field of the clump. Methods. Observations were performed at ~1.4 mm and employed three configurations of NOEMA and additional single-dish maps, merged with the interferometric data to recover the extended emission. Our correlator setup covered a number of lines from well-known hot core tracers and a few outflow tracers. The angular (~0′′.45–0′′.9) and spectral (0.5 km s−1) resolutions were sufficient to resolve the clump in IRAS 23385+6053 and investigate the existence of large-scale motions due to rotation, infall, or expansion. Results. We find that the clump splits into six distinct cores when observed at sub-arcsecond resolution. These are identified through their 1.4 mm continuum and molecular line emission. We produce maps of the velocity, line width, and rotational temperature from the methanol and methyl cyanide lines, which allow us to investigate the cores and reveal a velocity and temperature gradient in the most massive core. We also find evidence of a bipolar outflow, possibly powered by a low-mass star. Conclusions. We present the tentative detection of a circumstellar self-gravitating disk lying in the most massive core and powering a large-scale outflow previously known in the literature. In our scenario, the star powering the flow is responsible for most of the luminosity of IRAS 23385+6053 (~3000 L⊙). The other cores, albeit with masses below the corresponding virial masses, appear to be accreting material from their molecular surroundings and are possibly collapsing or on the verge of collapse. We conclude that we are observing a sample of star-forming cores that is bound to turn into a cluster of massive stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Circumstellar discs around massive stars could mediate the accretion onto the star from the infalling envelope, and could minimize the effects of radiation pressure. Despite such a crucial role, only a few convincing candidates have been provided for discs around deeply embedded O-type (proto)stars. Aims. In order to establish whether disc-mediated accretion is the formation mechanism for the most massive stars, we have searched for circumstellar, rotating discs around a limited sample of six luminous (>105 L⊙) young stellar objects. These objects were selected on the basis of their IR and radio properties in order to maximize the likelihood of association with disc+jet systems. Methods. We used ALMA with ~0".2 resolution to observe a large number of molecular lines typical of hot molecular cores. In this paper we limit our analysis to two disc tracers (methyl cyanide, CH3CN, and its isotopologue, 13CH3CN), and an outflow tracer (silicon monoxide, SiO). Results. We reveal many cores, although their number depends dramatically on the target. We focus on the cores that present prominent molecular line emission. In six of these a velocity gradient is seen across the core, three of which show evidence of Keplerian-like rotation. The SiO data reveal clear but poorly collimated bipolar outflow signatures towards two objects only. This can be explained if real jets are rare (perhaps short-lived) in very massive objects and/or if stellar multiplicity significantly affects the outflow structure. For all cores with velocity gradients, the velocity field is analysed through position-velocity plots to establish whether the gas is undergoing rotation with 3rot ∝ R-α, as expected for Keplerian-like discs. Conclusions. Our results suggest that in three objects we are observing rotation in circumstellar discs, with three more tentative cases, and one core where no evidence for rotation is found. In all cases but one, we find that the gas mass is less than the mass of any embedded O-type star, consistent with the (putative) discs undergoing Keplerian-like rotation. With the caveat of low number statistics, we conclude that the disc detection rate could be sensitive to the evolutionary stage of the young stellar object. In young, deeply embedded sources, the evidence for discs could be weak because of confusion with the surrounding envelope, while in the most evolved sources the molecular component of the disc could have already been dispersed. Only in those objects that are at an intermediate stage of the evolution would the molecular disc be sufficiently prominent and relatively less embedded to be detectable by mm/submm observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]