Search

We report 3 mm continuum, CH3CN(5-4) and 13CS(2-1) line observations with CARMA, in conjunction with 6 and 1.3 cm continuum VLA data, and 12 and 25 micron broadband data from the Subaru Telescope toward the massive proto-star IRAS18566+0408. The VLA data resolve the ionized jet into 4 components aligned in the E-W direction. Radio components A, C, and D have flat cm SEDs indicative of optically thin emission from ionized gas, and component B has a spectral index alpha = 1.0, and a decreasing size with frequency proportional to frequency to the -0.5 power. Emission from the CARMA 3 mm continuum, and from the 13CS(2-1), and CH3CN(5-4) spectral lines is compact (i.e. < 6700 AU), and peaks near the position of VLA cm source, component B. Analysis of these lines indicates hot, and dense molecular gas, typical for HMCs. Our Subaru telescope observations detect a single compact source, coincident with radio component B, demonstrating that most of the energy in IRAS18566+0408 originates from a region of size < 2400 AU. We also present UKIRT near-infrared archival data for IRAS18566+0408 which show extended K-band emission along the jet direction. We detect an E-W velocity shift of about 10 km/sec over the HMC in the CH3CN lines possibly tracing the interface of the ionized jet with the surrounding core gas. Our data demonstrate the presence of an ionized jet at the base of the molecular outflow, and support the hypothesis that massive protostars with O-type luminosity form with a mechanism similar to lower mass stars. more...

We wish to investigate the structure, velocity field, and stellar content of the G16.59-0.05 high-mass star-forming region, where previous studies have established the presence of two almost perpendicular (NE-SW and SE-NW), massive outflows, and a rotating disk traced by methanol maser emission. We performed Very Large Array observations of the radio continuum and ammonia line emission, complemented by COMICS/Subaru and Hi-GAL/Herschel images in the mid- and far-infrared (IR). Our centimeter continuum maps reveal a collimated radio jet that is oriented E-W and centered on the methanol maser disk, placed at the SE border of a compact molecular core. The spectral index of the jet is negative, indicating non-thermal emission over most of the jet, except the peak close to the maser disk, where thermal free-free emission is observed. We find that the ammonia emission presents a bipolar structure consistent (on a smaller scale) in direction and velocity with that of the NE-SW bipolar outflow detected in previous CO observations. After analyzing our previous N2H+(1-0) observations again, we conclude that two scenarios are possible. In one case both the radio jet and the ammonia emission would trace the root of the large-scale CO bipolar outflow. The different orientation of the jet and the ammonia flow could be explained by precession and/or a non-isotropic density distribution around the star. In the other case, the N2H+(1-0) and ammonia bipolarity is interpreted as two overlapping clumps moving with different velocities along the line of sight. The ammonia gas also seems to undergo rotation consistent with the maser disk. Our IR images complemented by archival data allow us to derive a bolometric luminosity of about 10^4 L_sun and to conclude that most of the luminosity is due to the young stellar object associated with the maser disk., Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics more...

We used the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European VLBI Network (EVN) to perform phase-referenced VLBI observations of the three most powerful maser transitions associated with the high-mass star-forming region G28.87+0.07: the 22.2 GHz H$_{2}$O, 6.7 GHz CH$_{3}$OH, and 1.665 GHz OH lines. We also performed VLA observations of the radio continuum emission at 1.3 and 3.6 cm and Subaru observations of the continuum emission at 24.5 $\mu$m. Two centimeter continuum sources are detected and one of them (named "HMC") is compact and placed at the center of the observed distribution of H$_{2}$O, CH$_{3}$OH and OH masers. The bipolar distribution of line-of-sight (l.o.s) velocities and the pattern of the proper motions suggest that the water masers are driven by a (proto)stellar jet interacting with the dense circumstellar gas. The same jet could both excite the centimeter continuum source named "HMC" (interpreted as free-free emission from shocked gas) and power the molecular outflow observed at larger scales -- although one cannot exclude that the free-free continuum is rather originating from a hypercompact \ion{H}{2} region. At 24.5 $\mu$m, we identify two objects separated along the north-south direction, whose absolute positions agree with those of the two VLA continuum sources. We establish that $\sim$90% of the luminosity of the region ($\sim$\times10^{5} L_\sun$) is coming from the radio source "HMC", which confirms the existence of an embedded massive young stellar object (MYSO) exciting the masers and possibly still undergoing heavy accretion from the surrounding envelope., Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ more...

Aims: The main goal of this study is to perform a sub-arcsecond resolution analysis of the high-mass star formation region G19.61-0.23, both in the continuum and molecular line emission. While the centimeter continuum images will be discussed in detail in a forthcoming paper, here we focus on the (sub)mm emission, devoting special attention to the hot molecular core. Results: Our observations resolve the HMC into three cores whose masses are on the order of 10^1-10^3 Msun. No submm core presents detectable free-free emission in the centimeter regime, but they appear to be associated with masers and thermal line emission from complex organic molecules. Towards the most massive core, SMA1, the CH3CN (18_K-17_K) lines reveal hints of rotation about the axis of a jet/outflow traced by H2O maser and H13CO+ (1--0) line emission. Inverse P-Cygni profiles of the 13CO (3--2) and C18O (3--2) lines seen towards SMA1 indicate that the central high-mass (proto)star(s) is (are) still gaining mass with an accretion rate $ge 3 ~10^{-3}$ Msun/yr. Due to the linear scales and the large values of the accretion rate, we hypothesize that we are observing an accretion flow towards a cluster in the making, rather than towards a single massive star., Comment: A&A accepted; 18 pages; Preprint with full-resolution figures is available at http://subarutelescope.org/staff/rsf/publication.html more...

The present paper focuses on the high-mass star-forming region G23.01-0.41. Methods: Using the VLBA and the EVN arrays, we conducted phase-referenced observations of the three most powerful maser species in G23.01-0.41: H2O at 22.2 GHz (4 epochs), CH3OH at 6.7 GHz (3 epochs), and OH at 1.665 GHz (1 epoch). In addition, we performed high-resolution (> 0".1), high-sensitivity (< 0.1 mJy) VLA observations of the radio continuum emission from the HMC at 1.3 and 3.6 cm. Results: We have detected H2O, CH3OH, and OH maser emission clustered within 2000 AU from the center of a flattened HMC, oriented SE-NW, from which emerges a massive 12CO outflow, elongated NE-SW, extended up to the pc-scale. Although the three maser species show a clearly different spatial and velocity distribution and sample distinct environments around the massive YSO, the spatial symmetry and velocity field of each maser specie can be explained in terms of expansion from a common center, which possibly denotes the position of the YSO driving the maser motion. Water masers trace both a fast shock (up to 50 km/s) closer to the YSO, powered by a wide-angle wind, and a slower (20 km/s) bipolar jet, at the base of the large-scale outflow. Since the compact free-free emission is found offset from the putative location of the YSO along a direction consistent with that of the maser jet axis, we interpret the radio continuum in terms of a thermal jet. The velocity field of methanol masers can be explained in terms of a composition of slow (4 km/s in amplitude) motions of radial expansion and rotation about an axis approximately parallel to the maser jet. Finally, the distribution of line of sight velocities of the hydroxyl masers suggests that they can trace gas less dense (n(H2) < 10^6 cm^-3) and more distant from the YSO than that traced by the water and methanol masers, which is expanding toward the observer. (Abridged), Comment: 23 pages, 8 figures, 4 tables, accepted by Astronomy and Astrophysics more...

Among the tracers of the earliest phases in the massive star formation process, methanol masers have gained increasing importance. The phenomenological distinction between Class I and II methanol masers is based on their spatial association with objects such as jets, cores, and ultracompact HII regions, but is also believed to correspond to different pumping mechanisms: radiation for Class II masers, collisions for Class I masers. In this work, we have surveyed a large sample of massive star forming regions - 296 objects divided into two groups named 'High' and 'Low' according to their [25-12] and [60-12] IRAS colours - in Class I and II methanol masers. Previous studies indicate that the High sources are likely more evolved. Therefore, the sample can be used to assess the existence of a sequence for the occurrence of Class I and II methanol masers during the evolution of a massive star forming region. We observed the 6 GHz (Class II) CH3OH maser with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope, and the 44 GHz and 95 GHz (Class I) CH3OH masers with the Nobeyama 45-m telescope. We have detected: 55 sources in the Class II line (12 new detections); 27 sources in the 44 GHz Class I line (17 new detections); 11 sources in the 95 GHz Class I line (all except one are new detections). Our statistical analysis shows that the ratio between the detection rates of Class II and Class I methanol masers is basically the same in High and Low sources. Therefore, both masers are equally associated with each evolutionary phase. In contrast, all maser species have about 3 times higher detection rates in High than in Low sources. This might indicate that the phenomena that originate all masers become progressively more active with time, during the earliest evolutionary phases of a high-mass star forming region., Comment: 30 pages including Appendices, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics more...

Using the OVRO, Nobeyama, and IRAM mm-arrays, we searched for ``disk''-outflow systems in three high-mass (proto)star forming regions: G16.59-0.05, G23.01-0.41, and G28.87+0.07. These were selected from a sample of NH3 cores associated with OH and H2O maser emission and with no or very faint continuum emission. Our imaging of molecular line (including rotational transitions of CH3CN and 3mm dust continuum emission revealed that these are compact, massive, and hot molecular cores (HMCs), that is likely sites of high-mass star formation prior to the appearance of UCHII regions. All three sources turn out to be associated with molecular outflows from CO and/or HCO+ J=1--0 line imaging. In addition, velocity gradients of 10 -- 100 km/s per pc in the innermost densest regions of the G23.01 and G28.87 HMCs are identified along directions roughly perpendicular to the axes of the corresponding outflows. All the results suggest that these cores might be rotating about the outflow axis, although the contribution of rotation to gravitational equilibrium of the HMCs appears to be negligible. Our analysis indicates that the 3 HMCs are close to virial equilibrium due to turbulent pressure support. Comparison with other similar objects where rotating toroids have been identified so far shows that in our case rotation appears to be much less prominent; this can be explained by the combined effect of unfavorable projection, large distance, and limited angular resolution with the current interferometers., Comment: Accepted by ApJ main journal, the paper with the original quality figures are available from http://subarutelescope.org/staff/rsf/publication.html more...

This article reports first results of a long-term observational program aimed to study the earliest evolution of jet/disk systems in low-mass YSOs by means of VLBI observations of the 22.2 GHz water masers. We report here data for the cluster of low-mass YSOs in the Serpens molecular core and for the single object RNO~15-FIR. Towards Serpens SMM1, the most luminous sub-mm source of the Serpens cluster, the water maser emission comes from two small (< 5 AU in size) clusters of features separated by ~25 AU, having line of sight velocities strongly red-shifted (by more than 10 km/s) with respect to the LSR velocity of the molecular cloud. The two maser clusters are oriented on the sky along a direction that is approximately perpendicular to the axis of the radio continuum jet observed with the VLA towards SMM1. The spatial and velocity distribution of the maser features lead us to favor the interpretation that the maser emission is excited by interaction of the receding lobe of the jet with dense gas in the accretion disk surrounding the YSO in SMM1. Towards RNO~15-FIR, the few detected maser features have both positions and (absolute) velocities aligned along a direction that is parallel to the axis of the molecular outflow observed on much larger angular scales. In this case the maser emission likely emerges from dense, shocked molecular clumps displaced along the axis of the jet emerging from the YSO. The protostar in Serpens SMM1 is more massive than the one in RNO~15-FIR. We discuss the case where a high mass ejection rate can generate jets sufficiently powerful to sweep away from their course the densest portions of circumstellar gas. In this case, the excitation conditions for water masers might preferably occur at the interface between the jet and the accretion disk, rather than along the jet axis., Comment: 18 pages (postscript format); 9 figures; to be published into Astronomy & Astrophysics, Main Journal more...

Using the Owens Valley and Nobeyama Radio Observatory interferometers, we carried out an unbiased search for hot molecular cores and ultracompact UC HII regions toward the high-mass star forming region G19.61--0.23. In addition, we performed 1.2 mm imaging with SIMBA, and retrieved 3.5 and 2 cm images from the VLA archive data base. The newly obtained 3 mm image brings information on a cluster of high-mass (proto)stars located in the innermost and densest part of the parsec scale clump detected in the 1.2 mm continuum. We identify a total of 10 high-mass young stellar objects: one hot core (HC) and 9 UC HII regions, whose physical parameters are obtained from model fits to their continuum spectra. The ratio between the current and expected final radii of the UC \HII regions ranges from 0.3 to 0.9, which leaves the possibility that all O-B stars formed simultaneously. Under the opposite assumption -- namely that star formation occurred randomly -- we estimate that HC lifetime is less than $\sim$1/3 of that of UCHII regions on the basis of the source number ratio between them., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figs, including a color fig more...

We have conducted multi-epoch synthesis imaging of 2 and 3 millimeter (mm) continuum emission and near infrared K band 2.2 um imaging of a flare event in January 2003 that occurred on the young stellar object GMR-A which is suggested to be a weak-line T Tauri star in the Orion cluster. Our mm data showed that the flare activity lasted at least over 13 days, whereas the K-band magnitude did not change during this event. In addition, we have succeeded in detecting short time variations of flux on the time scales of 15 minutes. The total energy of the flare is estimated to be 10^{35-36} erg, which makes it one of the most energetic flares reported to date. Comparing the mm continuum luminosities with reported X-ray luminosities, we conclude that the mm flare was similar in nature to solar and other stellar flares. Our results will be a crucial step toward understanding magnetically induced stellar surface activities in T Tauri stars., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures more...

We present results from a study of molecular gas and dust in the vicinity of the Herbig Haro object HH2. Emission from the sub-mm continuum, 12CO and HCO+ was mapped with angular resolutions ranging from 14 arcsec to 5 arcsec (or 0.01pc at the distance of HH2). The continuum shows an extended dust clump of mass 3.8Msun and temperature 22K, located downstream of the bright optical HH knots. However, a compact emission peak lies within ~0.01pc of the low-excitation H2-prominent shocks, with a luminosity consistent with local heating by the outflow. The HCO+ emission shows two velocity components: firstly, ambient-velocity gas lying in a region roughly corresponding to the dust clump, with abundance enhanced by a factor of a few close to the H2-prominent knots. Secondly a component of high-velocity emission (20 km/s linewidth), found mainly in a collimated jet linking the low-excitation HH objects. In this high-velocity jet, the line wings show an abundance ratio HCO+/CO proportional to v^2, with an HCO+ enhancement compared with ambient gas of up to 10^3 at the most extreme velocities. Such high abundances are consistent with models of shock chemistry in turbulent mixing layers at the interaction boundaries of jets. Extrapolating this effect to low velocities suggests that the more modest HCO+ enhancement in the clump gas could be caused by low velocity shocks. A UV precursor may not, therefore be necessary to explain the elevated HCO+ abundance in this gas., Comment: 8 pages. 9 figures. To be published in MNRAS more...

We conducted VLA observations at 0".06 resolution of the 22 GHz water masers toward the Class 0 source S106 FIR (d=600 pc; 15" west of S106-IRS4) on two epochs separated by ~3 months. Two compact clusters of the maser spots were found in the center of the submillimeter core of S106 FIR. The separation of the clusters was ~80 mas (48 AU) along P. A. = 70 degrees and the size of each cluster was ~20 mas x 10 mas. The western cluster, which had three maser components, was 7.0 km/s redshifted with respect to the ambient cloud velocity. Each component was composed of a few spatially localized maser spots and was aligned on a line connecting the clusters. We found relative proper motions of the components with ~30 mas/yr (18 AU/yr) along the line. In addition, a series of single-dish observations show that the maser components drifted with a radial acceleration of ~1 km/s/yr. These facts indicate that the masers could be excited by a 10 AU-scale jet-like accelerating flow ejected from an assumed protostar located between the two clusters. The outflow size traced by the masers was 50 AU x 5 AU after correction for an inclination angle of 10 degrees which was derived from the relative proper motions and radial velocities of the maser components. The three-dimensional outflow velocity ranged from 40 to 70 km/s assuming symmetric motions for the blue and red components. Since no distinct CO molecular outflows have been detected so far, we suggest that S106 FIR is an extremely young protostar observed just after the onset of outflowing activity., Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures, No. 5 color. Accepted, Astrophysical Journal more...