Issue |
A&A
Volume 655, November 2021
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A84 | |
Number of page(s) | 15 | |
Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202140963 | |
Published online | 23 November 2021 |
Disk fragmentation in high-mass star formation
High-resolution observations towards AFGL 2591-VLA 3★
1
Max Planck Institute for Astronomy,
Königstuhl 17,
69117
Heidelberg,
Germany
e-mail: suemeyye.suri@univie.ac.at
2
Leiden University,
Niels Bohrweg 2,
2333
CA
Leiden,
The Netherlands
3
I. Physikalisches Institut, Universität zu Köln,
Zülpicher Str. 77,
50937,
Köln,
Germany
4
IRAM, 300 rue de la Piscine, Domaine Universitaire,
38406
St.-Martin-d’Hères,
France
5
INAF, Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri,
Largo E. Fermi 5,
50125
Firenze,
Italy
6
Laboratoire d’astrophysique de Bordeaux, Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, B18N, allée Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire,
33615
Pessac,
France
7
Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics,
No.1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Rd,
Taipei
10617,
Taiwan,
ROC
8
CAS Key Laboratory of FAST, National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
Beijing
100101,
PR China
9
National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, National Institutes of Natural Sciences,
2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka,
Tokyo
181-8588,
Japan
10
School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Leeds,
Leeds
LS2 9JT,
UK
11
UK Astronomy Technology Centre, Royal Observatory Edinburgh,
Blackford Hill,
Edinburgh
EH9 3HJ,
UK
12
Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Institut für Theoretische Astrophysik,
Albert-Ueberle-Straße 2,
69120
Heidelberg,
Germany
13
Institut für Astronomie und Astrophysik, Universität Tübingen,
Auf der Morgenstelle 10,
72076
Tübingen,
Germany
14
INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari,
Via della Scienza 5,
09047,
Selargius (CA),
Italy
15
Astrophysics Research Institute, Liverpool John Moores University,
Liverpool,
L3 5RF,
UK
16
European Southern Observatory,
Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 2,
85748
Garching,
Germany
17
Instituto de Radioastronomía y Astrofísica (IRyA), UNAM,
Apdo. Postal 72-3 (Xangari), Morelia,
Michoacán
58089,
Mexico
18
Max-Planck-Institut für Astrophysik,
Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1,
85748
Garching,
Germany
19
Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University,
Hamilton,
Ontario
L8S4M1,
Canada
20
School of Physics & Astronomy, Cardiff University,
Queen’s building,
The parade,
Cardiff,
CF24 3AA,
UK
21
Department of Chemistry, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich,
Butenandtstr. 5-13, House F,
81377
Munich,
Germany
22
Centre for Astrophysics and Planetary Science, University of Kent,
Canterbury,
CT2,7NH,
UK
23
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR),
Auf dem Hügel 69,
53121
Bonn,
Germany
24
Universidad Autonoma de Chile,
Avda Pedro de Valdivia 425,
Providencia,
Santiago de Chile,
Chile
Received:
31
March
2021
Accepted:
14
August
2021
Context. Increasing evidence suggests that, similar to their low-mass counterparts, high-mass stars form through a disk-mediated accretion process. At the same time, formation of high-mass stars still necessitates high accretion rates, and hence, high gas densities, which in turn can cause disks to become unstable against gravitational fragmentation.
Aims. We study the kinematics and fragmentation of the disk around the high-mass star forming region AFGL 2591-VLA 3 which was hypothesized to be fragmenting based on the observations that show multiple outflow directions.
Methods. We use a new set of high-resolution (0′′.19) IRAM/NOEMA observations at 843 μm towards VLA 3 which allow us to resolve its disk, characterize the fragmentation, and study its kinematics. In addition to the 843 μm continuum emission, our spectral setup targets warm dense gas and outflow tracers such as HCN, HC3N and SO2, as well as vibrationally excited HCN lines.
Results. The high resolution continuum and line emission maps reveal multiple fragments with subsolar masses within the inner ~1000 AU of VLA 3. Furthermore, the velocity field of the inner disk observed at 843 μm shows a similar behavior to that of the larger scale velocity field studied in the CORE project at 1.37 mm.
Conclusions. We present the first observational evidence for disk fragmentation towards AFGL 2591-VLA 3, a source that was thought to be a single high-mass core. While the fragments themselves are low-mass, the rotation of the disk is dominated by the protostar with a mass of 10.3 ± 1.8 M⊙. These data also show that NOEMA Band 4 can obtain the highest currently achievable spatial resolution at (sub-)mm wavelengths in observations of strong northern sources.
Key words: stars: formation / stars: massive / techniques: interferometric
NOEMA data 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/655/A84
© S. Suri et al. 2021
Open Access article, published by EDP Sciences, under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Open Access funding provided by Max Planck Society.
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