Early Phases of Star Formation: Testing Chemical Tools

Star-forming processes strongly influence the ISM chemistry.Nowadays,many high-quality databases are available at millimeter wavelengths.Using them,it is possible to carry out studies that review and deepen previous results.If these studies involve large samples of sources,it is preferred to use direct tools to study the molecular gas.With the aim of testing these tools such as the use of the HCN/HNC ratio as a thermometer,and the use of H^(13)CO^(+),HC_(3)N,N_(2)H^(+) and C_(2)H as "chemical clocks," we present a molecular line study toward 55 sources representing massive young stellar objects at different evolutionary stages:infrared dark clouds(IRDCs),highmass protostellar objects(HMPOs),hot molecular cores(HMCs) and ultracompact H II regions.We found that the use of the HCN/HNC ratio as a universal thermometer in the ISM should be taken with care because the HCN optical depth is a big issue that can affect the method.Hence,this tool should be utilized only after a careful analysis of the HCN spectrum,checking that no line,neither the main nor the hyperfine ones,presents absorption features.We point out that the analysis of the emission of H^(13)CO^(+),HC_(3)N,N_(2)H^(+) and C_(2)H could be useful to trace and distinguish regions among IRDCs,HMPOs and HMCs.The molecular line widths of these four species increase from the IRDC to the HMC stage,which can be a consequence of the gas dynamics related to the starforming processes taking place in the molecular clumps.Our results not only contribute with more statistics,acting as a probe of such chemical tools,useful to obtain information in large samples of sources,but also complement previous works through the analysis of other types of sources.

Can Turbulent, High-density Gas Form Stars in Molecular Clouds: A Case Study in Ophiuchus

Star formation is governed by the interplay between gravity and turbulence in most of molecular clouds.Recent theoretical works assume that dense gas,whose column density is above a critical value in the column density probability distribution function(N-PDF),where gravity starts to overcome turbulence,becomes star-forming gas and will collapse to form stars.However,these high-density gases will include some very turbulent areas in the clouds.Will these dense but turbulent gases also form stars?We test this scenario in Ophiuchus molecular cloud using N-PDF analysis and find that at least in some regions,the turbulent,dense gas is not forming stars.We identified two isolated high-density structures in Ophiuchus,which are gravitationally unbound and show no sign of star formation.Their high densities may come from turbulence.

In Search for Infall Gas in Molecular Clouds:A Catalogue of CO Blue-Profiles

We have started a systematic survey of molecular clumps with infall motions to study the very early phase of star formation.Our first step is to utilize the data products by MWISP to make an unbiased survey for blue asymmetric line profiles of CO isotopical molecules.Within a total area of~2400 square degrees nearby the Galactic plane,we have found 3533 candidates showing blue-profiles,in which 3329 are selected from the^(12)CO&^(13)CO pair and 204 are from the^(13)CO&C^(18)O pair.Exploration of the parametric spaces suggests our samples are in the cold phase with relatively high column densities ready for star formation.Analysis of the spatial distribution of our samples suggests that they exist virtually in all major components of the galaxy.The vertical distribution suggest that the sources are located mainly in the thick disk of~85 pc,but still a small part are located far beyond Galactic midplane.Our follow-up observation indicates that these candidates are a good sample to start a search for infall motions,and to study the condition of very early phase of star formation.

Dense molecular gas tracers in high mass star formation regions

We report the FCRAO observations that mapped HCN （1-0）, CS （2-1）, HNC （1-0） and HCO＋ （1-0） in ten high-mass star forming cores associated with water masers. We present velocity integrated intensity maps of the four lines for these dense cores, compare their line profiles, and derive physical properties of these cores. We find that these four tracers identify areas with similar properties in these massive dense cores, and in most cases, the emissions of HCN and HCO＋ are stronger than those of HNC and CS. We also use the line ratios of HCO＋/HCN, HNC/HCN and HNC/HCO＋ as the diagnostics to explore the environment of these high-mass star forming regions, and find that most of the cores agree with the model that photodominated regions dominate the radiation field, except for W44, for which the radiation field is similar to an X-ray dominated region.

Submillimeter/millimeter observations of the high-mass star forming region IRAS 22506+5944

The mapping observations of CO J -- 2-1, CO J = 3- 2, 13CO J = 2-1 and 13CO J -- 3 - 2 lines in the direction of IRAS 22506＋5944 have been made. The results show that the cores in the J = 2 - i transition lines have a similar morphology to those in the J -- 3 - 2 transition lines. Bipolar molecular outflows are verified. The prior IRAS 22506＋5944 observations indicated that two IRAS sources and three H20 masers were located close to the peak position of the core. One of the IRAS sources may be the driving source of the outflows. In addition, the H20 masers may occur in relatively warm environments. The parameters of the dense core and outflow, obtained by the LTE method, indicate that IRAS 22506＋5944 is a high-mass star formation region.

Gas infall in the massive star formation core G192.16–3.84

Previous observations have revealed an accretion disk and outflow motion in the high-mass starforming region G192.16–3.84, but collapse has not been reported before. Here we present molecular line and continuum observations toward the massive core G192.16–3.84 with the Submillimeter Array. C18 O(2–1) and HCO+(3–2) lines show pronounced blue profiles, indicating gas infalling in this region. This is the first time that infall motion has been reported in the G192.16–3.84 core. Two-layer model fitting gives infall velocities of 2.0±0.2 and 2.8±0.1 km s-1. Assuming that the cloud core follows a power-law density profile(ρ∝ r1.5), the corresponding mass infall rates are(4.7±1.7)×10-3 and(6.6±2.1)×10-3 M⊙yr-1 for C18 O(2–1) and HCO+(3–2), respectively. The derived infall rates are in agreement with the turbulent core model and those in other high-mass star-forming regions, suggesting that high accretion rate is a general requirement for forming a massive star.

Disks and outflows in the S255IR area of high mass star formation from ALMA observations

We describe the general structure of the well known S255IR high mass star forming region, as revealed by our recent ALMA observations. The data indicate a physical relation exists between the major clumps SMA1 and SMA2. The driving source of the extended high velocity, well collimated bipolar outflow, is not the most pronounced disk-like SMA1 clump harboring a 20M⊙ young star （S255 NIRS3）, as was assumed earlier. Apparently, it is the less evolved SMA2 clump, which drives the outflow and contains a compact rotating structure （probably a disk）. At the same time, the SMA 1 clump drives another outflow, with a larger opening angle. The molecular line data do not show an outflow from the SMA3 clump （NIRS 1）, which was suggested by IR studies of this region.

Gas compression and likely triggered star formation in the infrared bubble N107

The expansion of HII regions can regulate the evolution of their natal clouds and the star for-mation therein. Infrared dust bubbles, which are frequently associated with HII regions, are ideal labora-tories to test whether impulse（s） driven by the expanding bubbles enhances or suppresses star-formation. In this work, we present a comprehensive study of a 20-pc scale infrared bubble N107 to reveal the com- pression of the neutral gas and associated star-forming activities. We obtain column density （NH2） and dust temperature （Tdust） maps via fitting modified blackbodies to multi-band far-infrared Herschel data. The shell structure can be recognized on the column density map. The molecular gas along the rim of N107 fragments into 94 dense clumps at an angular resolution of 18＂. Besides, based on the GLIMPSE point source catalog, we have identified 228 young stellar objects （YSOs） which are categorized into 55 Class I objects, 127 Class II objects and 46 transition disks （TDs）. The 94 clumps and 55 Class I type YSOs are mainly distributed along the shell, which may suggest triggered star formation exists in N107. In addition, analysis of NH2 probability density functions （PDFs） helps us reveal the condition of natal clouds. The two lognormal profiles of PDFs suggest that the surrounding molecular gas has been compressed due to expansion of the bubble. This compression may trigger the star formation process. Moreover, we find the shape of the PDFs changed after removing the background. Taken together, this big bubble seems to compress the surrounding gas and strongly regulate star formation therein.

The comparison of H_2CO(1_(10)–1_(11)),C^(18)O(1–0) and the continuum towards molecular clouds

We present large scale observations of C^18O （1-0） towards four massive star forming regions： MON R2, S156, DR17/L906 and M17/M18. The transitions of H2CO （110-111）, C^18O （1-0） and the 6cm continuum are compared in these four regions. Our analysis of the observations and the results of the Non-LTE model shows that the brightness temperature of the formaldehyde absorption line is strongest in a background continuum temperature range of about 3 - 8 K. The excitation of the H2CO absorption line is affected by strong background continuum emission. From a comparison of H2CO and C^18O maps, we found that the extent of H2CO absorption is broader than that of C^18O emission in the four regions. Except for the DR17 region, the maximum in H2CO absorption is located at the same position as the C^18O peak. A good correlation between intensities and widths of H2CO absorption and C^18O emission lines indicates that the H2CO absorption line can trace the dense, warm regions of a molecular cloud. We find that N（H2CO） is well correlated with N（ C^18O） in the four regions and that the average ratio of column densities is （N（H2CO）/N（ClSO）） ～0.03.

A Study of Star Formation in BRC18

Using the 13.7m radio telescope at Delingha, the millimeter-wave radioobservatory of Purple Mountain Observatory, we made mapping observations in ^(12)CO J = 1 - 0 linetowards IRAS 05417+0907, located in the bright-rimmed cloud (BRC) BRC18. We used a 7 x 7 grid with1' spacing, a finer and larger grid than the one used by Myers et al. Our results show that there isa bipolar outflow near IRAS 05417+0907. Combining with the observations at other wave bands, wefind that the star formation process in this region is triggered by radiation-driven implosion. Thesignificant difference between the masses of BRC18 and the cores and the relatively large ratio ofassociated source bolometric luminosity to the mass show that the star formation in BRC18 may betaking place in a sequence.

A multi-transition molecular line study of infrared dark cloud G331.71+00.59

Using archive data from the Millimeter Astronomy Legacy Team Survey at 90 GHz （MALT90）, carried out using the Mopra 22-m telescope, we made the first multi-transition molecular line study of infrared dark cloud （IRDC） MSXDC G331.71＋00.59. Two molecular cores were found embedded in this IRDC. Each of these cores is associated with a known extended green object （EGO）, indicating places of massive star formation. The HCO＋ （1-0） and HNC （1-0） transitions show promi- nent blue or red asymmetric structures, suggesting outflow and inflow activities of young stellar objects （YSOs）. Other detected molecular lines include H13CO＋ （1- 0）, C2H （1-0）, HC3N （10-9）, HNCO（40,4-30,3） and SiO （2-1）, which are typical of hot cores and outflows. We regard the two EGOs as evolving from the IRDC to hot cores. Using public GLIMPS data, we investigate the spectral energy distribution of EGO G331.71＋0.60. Our results support this EGO being a massive YSO driving the outflow. G331.71＋0.58 may be at an earlier evolutionary stage.

A Study of the Molecular Cloud S64 with Multiple Lines of CO Isotopes

We report on a study of the molecular cloud S64 with observations at millimeter wavelengths of multiple molecular lines of CO isotopes. A weak outflow is found, and its physical parameters are estimated. The departure of the core of S64 from the S64 HII region indicates that there are still other star formation activities in that region.

Non-similar collapse of singular isothermal spherical molecular cloud cores with nonzero initial velocities

Theoretically, stars formed from the collapse of cores in molecular clouds. Historically, the core had been assumed to be a singular isothermal sphere （SIS）, and the collapse had been investigated in a self-similar manner. When the rotation and magnetic fields lead to non-symmetric collapse, a spheroidal shape may occur. Here, the result of the centrifugal force and magnetic field gradient is assumed to be in the normal direction to the rotational axis, and its components are supposed to be a fraction β of the local gravitational force. In this research, a collapsing SIS core is considered to find the importance that the parameter β plays in the oblateness of the mass shells, which are the crests of the expansion waves. We apply the Adomian decomposition method to solve the system of nonlinear partial differential equations because the collapse does not occur in a spherically symmetric and self-similar man- ner. In this way, we obtain a semi-analytical relation for the mass infall rate M of the shells in the envelope. Near the rotational axis, M˙ decreases with the increase of the non-dimensional radius ξ, while a direct relation is observed between M˙ and ξ in the equatorial regions. Also, the values of M˙ in the polar regions are greater than their equatorial values, and this difference occurs more often at smaller values of ξ. Overall, the results show that before reaching the crest of the expansion wave, the visible shape of the molecular cloud cores can evolve into oblate spheroids. The ratio of major to minor axes of oblate cores increases when increasing the parameter β, and its value can approach the observed elongated shapes of cores in the maps of molecular clouds, such as those in Taurus and Perseus.

SMA molecular line survey towards the massive star-forming region G10.6-0.4in W31complex

Line surveys of complex molecules with millimeter and sub-millimeter telescopes are important for probing the physical and chemical environments of massive star forming regions(MSFRs).We present a molecular line survey with the Submillimeter Array(SMA) in the frequency ranges of 220.3–222.3 GHz and 230.3–232.3 GHz toward G10.6-0.4, the brightest star forming core in the W31 complex. Ninety-nine transitions from 22 molecular species and their isotopologues are identified. The moment 0 images of typical molecules show a compact core which is concentrated at the continuum peak position. Based on the local thermodynamic equilibrium assumption, the molecular line data are modeled. The rotational temperatures of those molecular species range from 96 to 178 K and their column densities range from 2.0×1014to 3.7×1017cm-2. The observational data suggest that all complex molecules are located in a warm environment. Chemical environments of the molecules are discussed. We compared molecular abundances and gas temperatures in G10.6-0.4 with those in other MSFRs, and found that gas temperatures and fractional abundances of specific molecules in G10.6-0.4 are similar to the typical MSFR W51 North, suggesting that there are similar physical and chemical environments in these two MSFRs.

Radiation-driven implosion in the Cepheus B molecular cloud

We analyze large scale mapping observations of the molecular lines in the ^12CO（J= 2-1）,^12CO（J=3-2）,^13CO（J=2-1）,and ^13CO（J=3-2） transition emissions toward the Cepheus B molecular cloud with the KOSMA 3mtelescope. The integrated intensity map of the ^12CO （J = 2 - 1） transition has shown a structure with a compact core and a compact ridge extended to the north-west of the core. The cloud is surrounded by an optically bright rim, where the radiation-driven implosion （RDI） may greatly change the gas properties. The intensities of the CO （J = 3 - 2） transition are higher than those of the CO （J = 2 - 1） transition along the rim area. We find characteristic RDI structure in position-velocity diagrams. Non-LTE large velocity gradient （LVG） model analysis shows that the density and temperature at the edge are higher than that in the center. Our results provide evidences that an RDI is taking place in the Cepheus B molecular cloud.

Molecular Gas and Dust in the Massive Star Forming Region S 233 IR

The massive star forming region S 233 IR is observed in the molecular lines CO J = 2–1, 3–2, NH3 (1,1), (2,2) and the 870 um dust continuum. Four submillimeter continuum sources, labelled SMM 1–4, are revealed in the 870 um dust emission. The main core, SMM1, is found to be associated with a deeply embedded near infrared cluster in the northeast; while the weaker source SMM2 coincides with a more evolved cluster in the southwest. The best fit spectral energy distribution of SMM1 gives an emissivity of β = 1.6, and temperatures of 32 K and 92 K for the cold- and hot-dust components. An SMM1 core mass of 246 M☉, and a total mass of 445 M☉ are estimated from the 870 um dust continuum emission. SMM1 is found to have a temperature gradient decreasing from inside out, indicative of the presence of interior heating sources. The total outflow gas mass as traced by the CO J = 3–2 emission is estimated to be 35 M☉. Low velocity outflows are also found in the NH3 (1,1) emission. The non-thermal dominant NH3 line width as well as the substantial core mass suggest that the SMM1 core is a ``turbulent, massive dense core', in the process of forming a group or a cluster of stars. The much higher star formation efficiency found in the southwest cluster supports the suggestion that this cluster is more evolved than the northeast one. Large near infrared photometric variations found in the source PCS-IR93, a previously found highly polarized nebulosity, indicate an underlying star showing the FU Orionis type of behavior.

Symmetry properties and widths of the filamentary structures in the Orion A giant molecular cloud

We identify 225 filaments from an H2 column density map constructed using simultaneous 12CO,13CO and C18O(J=1-0) observations carried out as a part of the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting(MWISP) project.We select 46 long filaments with lengths above 1.2 pc to analyze the filament column density profiles.We divide the selected filaments into 397 segments and calculate the column density profiles for each segment.The symmetries of the profiles are investigated.The proportion of intrinsically asymmetrical segments is 65.3%,and that of intrinsically symmetrical ones is 21.4%.The typical full width at half maximum(FWHM) of the intrinsically symmetrical filament segments is - 0.67 pc with the Plummer-like fitting,and - 0.50 pc with the Gaussian fitting,respectively.The median FWHMs derived from the second-moment method for intrinsically symmetrical and asymmetrical profiles are - 0.44 and 0.46 pc,respectively.Close association exists between the filamentary structures and the YSOs in the region.

Studying infall in infrared dark clouds with multiple HCO transitions

We investigate the infall properties in a sample of 11 infrared dark clouds(IRDCs) showing blue-asymmetry signatures in HCO^(+)J=1-0 line profiles.We used JCMT to conduct mapping observations in HCO^(+)J=4-3 as well as single-point observations in HCO+J=3-2,towards 23 clumps in these IRDCs.We applied the HILL model to fit these observations and derived infall velocities in the range of 0.5-2.7 km s^(-1),with a median value of 1.0 km s^(-1),and obtained mass accretion rates of 0.5-14 ×10^(-3) Mo yr^(-1).These values are comparable to those found in massive star forming clumps in later evolutionary stages.These IRDC clumps are more likely to form star clusters.HCO^(+)J=3-2 and HCO^(+)J=1-0 were shown to trace infall signatures well in these IRDCs with comparable inferred properties.HCO^(+)J=4-3,on the other hand,exhibits infall signatures only in a few very massive clumps,due to smaller opacities.No obvious correlation for these clumps was found between infall velocity and the NH3/CCS ratio.

HNCO： a molecule that traces low-velocity shocks

Using data from Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team Survey at 90 GHz （MALT90）, we present a molecular line study of a sample of APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy （ATLASGAL） clumps. Twelve emission lines have been detected in all. We found that in most sources, emissions of HC3N, HN13C, CH3CN, HNCO and SiO show more compact distributions than those of HCO＋, HNC, HCN and N2H＋. By comparing with other molecular lines, we found that the abun- dance of HNCO （x（HNCO）） correlates well with other species such as HC3N, HNC, C2H, H13CO＋ and N2H＋. Previous studies indicate the HNCO abundance could be enhanced by shocks. However, in this study, we find the abundance of HNCO does not correlate well with that of SiO, which is also a good tracer of shocks. We suggest this may be because HNCO and SiO trace different parts of shocks. Our analysis indicates that the velocity of a shock traced by HNCO tends to be lower than that traced by SiO. In the low-velocity shocks traced by HNCO, the HNCO abundance increases faster than that of SiO. While in the relatively high-velocity shocks traced by SiO, the SiO abundance increases faster than that of HNCO. We suggest that in the infrared dark cloud MSXDC G331.71＋00.59, high-velocity shocks are destroying the molecule HNCO.

WISE Infrared Search for Young Stellar Objects Associated with Starless Cores

This study presents the results of an infrared search of young stellar objects (YSOs) associated with cores with high optical extinction and no associated infrared IRAS source. Four hundred YSO candidates were identified in the WISE photometric catalog based on the infrared excess attributed to the circumstellar materials and proto-planetary disks. One-hundred and forty-nine cores do not have YSO candidates. Whereas, 32 cores harbor only Class I candidates and 107 cores have Class II candidates. Ninety-one cores that were previously identified as starless cores, were found to contain YSOs. The ratio of the number of starless cores to the number of star-forming cores suggests that the typical timescale from molecular cloud core formation to the birth of a star is in the range of 0.5 - 1.4 Myr.