Issue |
A&A
Volume 617, September 2018
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A100 | |
Number of page(s) | 28 | |
Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833021 | |
Published online | 24 September 2018 |
Fragmentation and disk formation during high-mass star formation
IRAM NOEMA (Northern Extended Millimeter Array) large program CORE
1
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy,
Königstuhl 17,
69117
Heidelberg,
Germany
e-mail: beuther@mpia.de
2
UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh,
Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ,
UK
3
IRAM, 300 rue de la Piscine, Domaine Universitaire de Grenoble,
38406
St.-Martin-d’Hères,
France
4
Leiden Observatory, Leiden University,
PO Box 9513,
2300
RA Leiden,
The Netherlands
5
Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Tübingen,
Auf der Morgenstelle 10,
72076
Tübingen,
Germany
6
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik,
Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1,
85748
Garching,
Germany
7
Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, University of Kent,
Canterbury
CT2 7NH,
UK
8
Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University,
1280 Main St. W,
Hamilton
ON L8S 4M1,
Canada
9
School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University,
Cardiff
CF24 3AA,
UK
10
Max Planck Institut for Extraterrestrische Physik,
Giessenbachstrasse 1,
85748
Garching,
Germany
11
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics,
160 Garden St,
Cambridge,
MA
02420,
USA
12
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari,
via della Scienza 5,
09047
Selargius (CA),
Italy
13
INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri,
Largo E. Fermi 5,
50125
Firenze,
Italy
14
Instituto de Radioastronoma y Astrofsica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico,
58090
Morelia,
Michoacan,
Mexico
15
I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln,
Zülpicher Str. 77,
50937
Köln,
Germany
16
Max Planck Institut for Radioastronomie,
Auf dem Hügel 69,
53121
Bonn,
Germany
17
School of Physics & Astronomy, E.C. Stoner Building, The University of Leeds,
Leeds
LS2 9JT,
UK
18
Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University,
146 Brownlow Hill,
Liverpool L3 5RF,
UK
Received:
14
March
2018
Accepted:
1
May
2018
Context. High-mass stars form in clusters, but neither the early fragmentation processes nor the detailed physical processes leading to the most massive stars are well understood.
Aims. We aim to understand the fragmentation, as well as the disk formation, outflow generation, and chemical processes during high-mass star formation on spatial scales of individual cores.
Methods. Using the IRAM Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) in combination with the 30 m telescope, we have observed in the IRAM large program CORE the 1.37 mm continuum and spectral line emission at high angular resolution (~0.4″) for a sample of 20 well-known high-mass star-forming regions with distances below 5.5 kpc and luminosities larger than 104 L⊙.
Results. We present the overall survey scope, the selected sample, the observational setup, and the main goals of CORE. Scientifically, we concentrated on the mm continuum emission on scales on the order of 1000 AU. We detect strong mm continuum emission from all regions, mostly due to the emission from cold dust. The fragmentation properties of the sample are diverse. We see extremes where some regions are dominated by a single high-mass core whereas others fragment into as many as 20 cores. A minimum-spanning-tree analysis finds fragmentation at scales on the order of the thermal Jeans length or smaller suggesting that turbulent fragmentation is less important than thermal gravitational fragmentation. The diversity of highly fragmented vs. singular regions can be explained by varying initial density structures and/or different initial magnetic field strengths.
Conclusions. A large sample of high-mass star-forming regions at high spatial resolution allows us to study the fragmentation properties of young cluster-forming regions. The smallest observed separations between cores are found around the angular resolution limit which indicates that further fragmentation likely takes place on even smaller spatial scales. The CORE project with its numerous spectral line detections will address a diverse set of important physical and chemical questions in the field of high-mass star formation.
Key words: stars: formation / stars: massive / stars: general / stars: rotation / instrumentation: interferometers
© ESO 2018
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