Issue |
A&A
Volume 641, September 2020
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A54 | |
Number of page(s) | 25 | |
Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202038212 | |
Published online | 08 September 2020 |
Evolutionary study of complex organic molecules in high-mass star-forming regions★
1
Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università degli Studi di Firenze,
Via Sansone 1,
50019
Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy
e-mail: alessandro.coletta@stud.unifi.it
2
INAF – Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri,
Largo E. Fermi 5,
50125
Firenze, Italy
3
I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln,
Zülpicher Str. 77,
50937
Köln, Germany
Received:
20
April
2020
Accepted:
25
June
2020
We have studied four complex organic molecules (COMs), the oxygen-bearing methyl formate (CH3OCHO) and dimethyl ether (CH3OCH3) as well as the nitrogen-bearing formamide (NH2CHO) and ethyl cyanide (C2H5CN), towards a large sample of 39 high-mass star-forming regions representing different evolutionary stages, from early to evolved phases. We aim to identify potential correlations and chemical links between the molecules and to trace their evolutionary sequence through the star formation process. We analysed spectra obtained at 3, 2, and 0.9 mm with the IRAM-30m telescope. We derived the main physical parameters for each species by fitting the molecular lines. We compared them and evaluated their evolution while also taking several other interstellar environments into account. We report detections in 20 sources, revealing a clear dust absorption effect on column densities. Derived abundances range between ~ 10−10−10−7 for CH3OCHO and CH3OCH3, ~ 10−12−10−10 for NH2CHO, and ~ 10−11−10−9 for C2H5CN. The abundances of CH3OCHO, CH3OCH3, and C2H5CN are very strongly correlated (r ≥ 0.92) across ~ 4 orders of magnitude. We note that CH3OCHO and CH3OCH3 show the strongest correlations in most parameters, and a nearly constant ratio (~ 1) over a remarkable ~ 9 orders of magnitude in luminosity for the following wide variety of sources: pre-stellar to evolved cores, low- to high-mass objects, shocks, Galactic clouds, and comets. This indicates that COMs chemistry is likely early developed and then preserved through evolved phases. Moreover, the molecular abundances clearly increase with evolution, covering ~ 6 orders of magnitude in the luminosity/mass ratio. We consider CH3OCHO and CH3OCH3 to be most likely chemically linked. They could, for example, share a common precursor, or be formed one from the other. Based on correlations, ratios, and the evolutionary trend, we propose a general scenario for all COMs, involving a formation in the cold, earliest phases of star formation and a following increasing desorption with the progressive thermal and shock-induced heating of the evolving core.
Key words: stars: formation / radio lines: ISM / ISM: molecules
IRAM source spectra are only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/cat/J/A+A/641/A54
© ESO 2020
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.