FORMING AN O STAR VIA DISK ACCRETION?

Journal Article · Mon Sep 10 00:00:00 EDT 2012 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/756/2/170· OSTI ID:22092358

Keping, Qiu ^[1]; Qizhou, Zhang ^[2]; Beuther, Henrik; Fallscheer, Cassandra ^[3]

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1. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, D-53121 Bonn (Germany)
2. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
3. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astronomie, Koenigstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany)

We present a study of outflow, infall, and rotation in a {approx}10{sup 5} L{sub Sun} star-forming region, IRAS 18360-0537, with Submillimeter Array and IRAM 30 m observations. The 1.3 mm continuum map shows a 0.5 pc dust ridge, of which the central compact part has a mass of {approx}80 M{sub Sun} and harbors two condensations, MM1 and MM2. The CO (2-1) and SiO (5-4) maps reveal a biconical outflow centered at MM1, which is a hot molecular core (HMC) with a gas temperature of 320 {+-} 50 K and a mass of {approx}13 M{sub Sun }. The outflow has a gas mass of 54 M{sub Sun} and a dynamical timescale of 8 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup 3} yr. The kinematics of the HMC are probed by high-excitation CH{sub 3}OH and CH{sub 3}CN lines, which are detected at subarcsecond resolution and unveil a velocity gradient perpendicular to the outflow axis, suggesting a disk-like rotation of the HMC. An infalling envelope around the HMC is evidenced by CN lines exhibiting a profound inverse P Cygni profile, and the estimated mass infall rate, 1.5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -3} M{sub Sun} yr{sup -1}, is well comparable to that inferred from the mass outflow rate. A more detailed investigation of the kinematics of the dense gas around the HMC is obtained from the {sup 13}CO and C{sup 18}O (2-1) lines; the position-velocity diagrams of the two lines are consistent with the model of a free-falling and Keplerian-like rotating envelope. The observations suggest that the protostar of a current mass {approx}10 M{sub Sun} embedded within MM1 will develop into an O star via disk accretion and envelope infall.

• OSTI ID: 22092358
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 756, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ACCRETION DISKS
ACETONITRILE
ASTRONOMY
ASTROPHYSICS
CARBON 13
CARBON 18
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON NITRIDES
COSMIC DUST
CYANIDES
DIAGRAMS
EMISSION SPECTRA
EXCITATION
JETS
MASS
METHANOL
SILICON OXIDES
STARS