Search

Context. The fragmentation mode of high-mass molecular clumps and the accretion processes that form the most massive stars (M ≳ 8 M⊙) are still not well understood. A growing number of case studies have found massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) to harbour disk-like structures, painting a picture that the formation of high-mass stars may proceed through disk accretion, similar to that of lower-mass stars. However, the properties of such structures have yet to be uniformly and systematically characterised. Aims. The aim of this work is to uniformly study the kinematic properties of a large sample of MYSOs and characterise the stability of possible circumstellar disks against gravitational fragmentation. Methods. We have undertaken a large observational programme (CORE) making use of interferometric observations from the Northern Extended Millimetre Array (NOEMA) for a sample of 20 luminous (L > 104L⊙) protostellar objects in the 1.37 mm wavelength regime in both continuum and spectral line emission, reaching 0.4″ resolution (800 au at 2 kpc). Results. We present the gas kinematics of the full sample and detect dense gas emission surrounding 15 regions within the CORE sample. Using the dense gas tracer CH3CN, we find velocity gradients across 13 cores perpendicular to the directions of bipolar molecular outflows, making them excellent disk candidates. The extent of the CH3CN emission tracing the disk candidates varies from 1800 to 8500 au. Analysing the free-fall to rotational timescales, we find that the sources are rotationally supported. The rotation profiles of some disk candidates are well described by differential rotation while for others the profiles are poorly resolved. Fitting the velocity profiles with a Keplerian model, we find protostellar masses in the range of ~ 10–25 M⊙. Modelling the level population of CH3CN (12K–11K) K = 0–6 lines, we present temperature maps and find median temperature in the range 70–210 K with a diversity in distributions. Radial profiles of the specific angular momentum (j) for the best disk candidates span a range of 1–2 orders of magnitude, on average ~10−3 km s−1 pc, and they follow j ∝ r1.7, which is consistent with a poorly resolved rotating and infalling envelope-disk model. Studying the Toomre stability of the disk candidates, we find almost all (11 out of 13) disk candidates to be prone to fragmentation due to gravitational instabilities at the scales probed by our observations, as a result of their high disk to stellar mass ratio. In particular, disks with masses greater than ~ 10–20% of the mass of their host (proto)stars are Toomre unstable, and more luminous YSOs tend to have disks that are more massive compared to their host star and hence more prone to fragmentation. Conclusions. In this work, we show that most disk structures around high-mass YSOs are prone to disk fragmentation early in their formation due to their high disk to stellar mass ratio. This impacts the accretion evolution of high-mass protostars which will have significant implications for the formation of the most massive stars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forming high-mass stars have a significant effect on their natal environment. Their feedback pathways, including winds, outflows, and ionizing radiation, shape the evolution of their surroundings which impacts the formation of the next generation of stars. They create or reveal dense pillars of gas and dust towards the edges of the cavities they clear. They are modelled in feedback simulations, and the sizes and shapes of the pillars produced are consistent with those observed. However, these models predict measurably different kinematics which provides testable discriminants. Here we present the first ALMA Compact Array (ACA) survey of 13 pillars in Carina, observed in 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J = 2–1, and the 230 GHz continuum. The pillars in this survey were chosen to cover a wide range in properties relating to the amount and direction of incident radiation, proximity to nearby irradiating clusters and cloud rims, and whether they are detached from the cloud. With these data, we are able to discriminate between models. We generally find pillar velocity dispersions of <1 km s−1 and that the outer few layers of molecular emission in these pillars show no significant offsets from each other, suggesting little bulk internal motions within the pillars. There are instances where the pillars are offset in velocity from their parental cloud rim, and some with no offset, hinting at a stochastic development of these motions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. The formation process of high-mass stars (>8 M⊙) is poorly constrained, particularly the effects of clump fragmentation creating multiple systems and the mechanism of mass accretion onto the cores. Aims. We study the fragmentation of dense gas clumps, and trace the circumstellar rotation and outflows by analyzing observations of the high-mass (~500 M⊙) star-forming region IRAS 23033+5951. Methods. Using the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in three configurations and the IRAM 30 m single-dish telescope at 220 GHz, we probe the gas and dust emission at an angular resolution of ~0.45′′, corresponding to 1900 au. Results. In the millimeter (mm) continuum emission, we identify a protostellar cluster with at least four mm-sources, where three of them show a significantly higher peak intensity well above a signal-to-noise ratio of 100. Hierarchical fragmentation from large to small spatial scales is discussed. Two fragments are embedded in rotating structures and drive molecular outflows, traced by 13CO (2–1) emission. The velocity profiles across two of the cores are similar to Keplerian but are missing the highest-velocity components close to the center of rotation, which is a common phenomena from observations like these, and other rotation scenarios are not excluded entirely. Position–velocity diagrams suggest protostellar masses of ~6 and 19 M⊙. Rotational temperatures from fitting CH3CN (12K− 11K) spectra are used for estimating the gas temperature and thereby also the disk stability against gravitational fragmentation, utilizing Toomre's Q parameter. Assuming that the candidate disk is in Keplerian rotation about the central stellar object and considering different disk inclination angles, we identify only one candidate disk as being unstable against gravitational instability caused by axisymmetric perturbations. Conclusions. The dominant sources cover different evolutionary stages within the same maternal gas clump. The appearance of rotation and outflows of the cores are similar to those found in low-mass star-forming regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the highest angular resolution (∼20 × 15 mas–44 × 33 au) Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA) observations that are currently possible of the proto-O-star G17.64+0.16 in Band 6. The Cycle 5 observations with baselines out to 16 km probe scales < 50 au and reveal the rotating disc around G17.64+0.16, a massive forming O-type star. The disc has a ring-like enhancement in the dust emission that is especially visible as arc structures to the north and south. The Keplerian kinematics are most prominently seen in the vibrationally excited water line, H2O 55, 0−64, 3 ν2 = 1 (Eu = 3461.9 K). The mass of the central source found by modelling the Keplerian rotation is consistent with 45 ± 10 M⊙. The H30α (231.9 GHz) radio-recombination line and the SiO (5-4) molecular line were detected at up to the ∼10σ level. The estimated disc mass is 0.6 − 2.6 M⊙ under the optically thin assumption. Analysis of the Toomre Q parameter in the optically thin regime indicates that the disc stability is highly dependent on temperature. The disc currently appears stable for temperatures > 150 K; this does not preclude that the substructures formed earlier through disc fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. Jets and outflows are key ingredients in the formation of stars across the mass spectrum. In clustered regions, understanding powering sources and outflow components poses a significant problem. Aims. We aim to understand the dynamics in the outflow(s) from a cluster in the process of forming massive stars. Methods. We use new VLA observations of the molecular gas (SiO, CS, OCS, and H2CO) in the massive star forming region IRAS 17233-3606 which contains a number of HII regions. We compare these observations to previously published molecular data for this source in order to get a holistic view of the outflow dynamics. Results. We find that the dynamics of the various species can be explained by a single large scale (~0.15 pc) outflow when compared to the sizes of the HII regions, with the different morphologies of the blue and red outflow components explained with respect to the morphology of the surrounding envelope. We further find that the direction of the velocity gradients seen in OCS and H2CO are suggestive of a combination of rotation and outflow motions in the warm gas surrounding the HII regions near the base of the large scale outflow. Conclusions. Our results show that the massive protostars forming within this region appear to be contributing to a single outflow on large scales. This single large scale outflow is traced by a number of different species as the outflow interacts with its surroundings. On the small scales, there appear to be multiple mechanisms contributing to the dynamics which could be a combination of either a small scale outflow or rotation with the dynamics of the large scale outflow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Whether high mass stars continue to accrete material beyond the formation of an HII region is still an open question. Ionized infall and outflow have been seen in some sources, but their ties to the surrounding molecular gas are not well constrained. Aims. We aim to quantify the ionized and molecular gas dynamics in a high mass star forming region (K3-50A) and their interaction. Methods. We present CARMA observations of the 3mm continuum, HCO+ and H41α emission, and VLA continuum observations at 23 GHz and 14.7 GHz to quantify the gas and its dynamics in K3-50A. Results. We find large scale dynamics consistent with previous observations. On small scales, we find evidence for interaction between the ionized and molecular gas that suggests the ionized outflow is entraining the molecular one. This is the first time such an outflow entrained by photo ionized gas has been observed. Conclusions. Accretion may be ongoing in K3-50A because an ionized bipolar outflow is still being powered, which is in turn entraining part of the surrounding molecular gas. This outflow scenario is similar to that predicted by ionization feedback models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]