Left: mean radial column density profile measured on the eastern side of the Vela C ridge in the 11.5′′ resolution column density map shown in Fig. 2 (right). This figure is complementary to Fig. 3 for the side containing the OB cluster. This profile has a p value of 2.3 ± 0.5 and R_flat = 0.05 ± 0.02 pc. The error bars in yellow show the dispersion of the radial profile along the filament, while the lines on the plot are as per Fig. 3 and as indicated on the key. Right: comparison of the mean background-subtracted radial profiles measured on the western side of the Vela C ridge in the 11.5′′ resolution column density map (black curve and yellow error bars) and in the 36.3′′ resolution column density map (orange curve). The black and orange dash-dotted curves represent the effective 11.5′′ and 36.3′′ HPBW resolutions of the corresponding data, respectively.

Left: column density map of the Serpens South filament (36′′ resolution) derived from HGBS data (see Könyves et al. 2010), with the corresponding topological filament identified overlaid in blue. Right: mean radial density profile (taken from both sides of the filament) measured perpendicular to the supercritical Serpens South filament (left) shown here in log-log format. Lines and colour coding are consistent with Figs. 3 and 4. The Gaussian fit to the inner part of the profile (dotted blue curve) has a deconvolved FWHM width 0.10 ± 0.05 pc. The best Plummer-like model fit (dashed red curve) has an inner radius R_flat ~ 0.03 ± 0.01 pc and a power-law index p = 2.02 ± 0.27.