CHEMICAL EVOLUTION IN HIGH-MASS STAR-FORMING REGIONS: RESULTS FROM THE MALT90 SURVEY
- Institute for Astrophysical Research, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- Physics Department, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)
- Australia Telescope National Facility, CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, Epping, NSW (Australia)
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States)
The chemical changes of high-mass star-forming regions provide a potential method for classifying their evolutionary stages and, ultimately, ages. In this study, we search for correlations between molecular abundances and the evolutionary stages of dense molecular clumps associated with high-mass star formation. We use the molecular line maps from Year 1 of the Millimetre Astronomy Legacy Team 90 GHz (MALT90) Survey. The survey mapped several hundred individual star-forming clumps chosen from the ATLASGAL survey to span the complete range of evolution, from prestellar to protostellar to H II regions. The evolutionary stage of each clump is classified using the Spitzer GLIMPSE/MIPSGAL mid-IR surveys. Where possible, we determine the dust temperatures and H{sub 2} column densities for each clump from Herschel/Hi-GAL continuum data. From MALT90 data, we measure the integrated intensities of the N{sub 2}H{sup +}, HCO{sup +}, HCN and HNC (1-0) lines, and derive the column densities and abundances of N{sub 2}H{sup +} and HCO{sup +}. The Herschel dust temperatures increase as a function of the IR-based Spitzer evolutionary classification scheme, with the youngest clumps being the coldest, which gives confidence that this classification method provides a reliable way to assign evolutionary stages to clumps. Both N{sub 2}H{sup +} and HCO{sup +} abundances increase as a function of evolutionary stage, whereas the N{sub 2}H{sup +} (1-0) to HCO{sup +} (1-0) integrated intensity ratios show no discernable trend. The HCN (1-0) to HNC(1-0) integrated intensity ratios show marginal evidence of an increase as the clumps evolve.
- OSTI ID:
- 22270543
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 777; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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