The ALMA Survey of 70 μm Dark High-mass Clumps in Early Stages (ASHES). IV. Star Formation Signatures in G023.477

With a mass of ∼1000 M ⊙ and a surface density of ∼0.5 g cm−2, G023.477+0.114, also known as IRDC 18310-4, is an infrared dark cloud (IRDC) that has the potential to form high-mass stars and has been recognized as a promising prestellar clump candidate. To characterize the early stages of high-mass star formation, we have observed G023.477+0.114 as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Survey of 70 μm Dark High-mass Clumps in Early Stages. We have conducted ∼1.″2 resolution observations with ALMA at 1.3 mm in dust continuum and molecular line emission. We have identified 11 cores, whose masses range from 1.1 to 19.0 M ⊙. Ignoring magnetic fields, the virial parameters of the cores are below unity, implying that the cores are gravitationally bound. However, when magnetic fields are included, the prestellar cores are close to virial equilibrium, while the protostellar cores remain sub-virialized. Star formation activity has already started in this clump. Four collimated outflows are detected in CO and SiO. H2CO and CH3OH emission coincide with the high-velocity components seen in the CO and SiO emission. The outflows are randomly oriented for the natal filament and the magnetic field. The position-velocity diagrams suggest that episodic mass ejection has already begun even in this very early phase of protostellar formation. The masses of the identified cores are comparable to the expected maximum stellar mass that this IRDC could form (8–19 M ⊙). We explore two possibilities on how IRDC G023.477+0.114 could eventually form high-mass stars in the context of theoretical scenarios.

Generalized Transport Equation of The Autocovariance Function of the Density Field and Mass Invariant in Star-forming Clouds

In this Letter, we study the evolution of the autocovariance function of density-field fluctuations in star-forming clouds and thus of the correlation length l c (ρ) of these fluctuations, which can be identified as the average size of the most correlated structures within the cloud. Generalizing the transport equation derived by Chandrasekhar for static, homogeneous turbulence, we show that the mass contained within these structures is an invariant, i.e., that the average mass contained in the most correlated structures remains constant during the evolution of the cloud, whatever dominates the global dynamics (gravity or turbulence). We show that the growing impact of gravity on the turbulent flow yields an increase of the variance of the density fluctuations and thus a drastic decrease of the correlation length. Theoretical relations are successfully compared to numerical simulations. This picture brings a robust support to star formation paradigms where the mass concentration in turbulent star-forming clouds evolves from initially large, weakly correlated filamentary structures to smaller, denser, more correlated ones, and eventually to small, tightly correlated, prestellar cores. We stress that the present results rely on a pure statistical approach of density fluctuations and do not involve any specific condition for the formation of prestellar cores. Interestingly enough, we show that, under average conditions typical of Milky-Way molecular clouds, this invariant average mass is about a solar mass, providing an appealing explanation for the apparent universality of the IMF in such environments.

A Revised Description of the Cosmic Ray Induced Desorption of Interstellar Ices

Nonthermal desorption of ices on interstellar grains is required to explain observations of molecules that are not synthesized efficiently in the gas phase in cold dense clouds. Perhaps the most important nonthermal desorption mechanism is one induced by cosmic rays (CRs), which, when passing through a grain, heat it transiently to a high temperature—the grain cools back to its original equilibrium temperature via the (partial) sublimation of the ice. Current cosmic ray induced desorption (CRD) models assume a fixed grain cooling time. In this work, we present a revised description of CRD in which the desorption efficiency depends dynamically on the ice content. We apply the revised desorption scheme to two-phase and three-phase chemical models in physical conditions corresponding to starless and prestellar cores, and to molecular cloud envelopes. We find that, inside starless and prestellar cores, introducing dynamic CRD can decrease gas-phase abundances by up to an order of magnitude in two-phase chemical models. In three-phase chemical models, our model produces results very similar to those of the static cooling scheme—when only one monolayer of ice is considered active. Ice abundances are generally insensitive to variations in the grain cooling time. Further improved CRD models need to take into account additional effects in the transient heating of the grains—introduced, for example, by the adoption of a spectrum of CR energies.

Investigating the Physical Properties and Fragmentation of the AFGL 333-Ridge

We present multiwavelength data to investigate the physical properties and fragmentation of AFGL 333-Ridge. A statistical analysis of velocity dispersion indicates that turbulence is the dominant motion in the ridge. However, the linear mass density (1124.0 M ⊙/pc) of AFGL 333-Ridge far exceeds its critical value of 406.5 M ⊙/pc, suggesting that additional motions are required to prevent the filament radial collapse. Using the getsources algorithm, we identified 14 cores from the Herschel maps, including two protostellar cores and 12 starless cores. All of these starless cores are gravitationally bound, and are therefore considered to be prestellar cores. Based on their radius-mass relation, 11 of 14 cores have the potential to form massive stars. Moreover, the seven cores in two subfilaments of AFGL 333-Ridge seem to constitute two necklace-like chains with a spacing length of 0.51 and 0.45 pc, respectively. Compared the spacing length with theoretical prediction lengths by Jeans and cylindrical fragmentations, we argued that the combination of turbulence and thermal pressure may lead to the fragmentation of the two subfilaments into the cores.

A PPMAP analysis of the filamentary structures in Ophiuchus L1688 and L1689

We use the PPMAP (Point Process MAPping) algorithm to re-analyse the Herschel and SCUBA-2 observations of the L1688 and L1689 sub-regions of the Ophiuchus molecular cloud. PPMAP delivers maps with high resolution (here 14″, corresponding to ∼0.01 pc at ∼140 pc), by using the observations at their native resolutions. PPMAP also delivers more accurate dust optical depths, by distinguishing dust of different types and at different temperatures. The filaments and prestellar cores almost all lie in regions with $N_{\rm H_2}\gtrsim 7\times 10^{21}\, {\rm cm}^{-2}$ (corresponding to $A_{_{\rm V}}\gtrsim 7$). The dust temperature, T, tends to be correlated with the dust opacity index, β, with low T and low β tend concentrated in the interiors of filaments. The one exception to this tendency is a section of filament in L1688 that falls – in projection – between the two B stars, S1 and HD147889; here T and β are relatively high, and there is compelling evidence that feedback from these two stars has heated and compressed the filament. Filament fwhms are typically in the range 0.10 pc to 0.15 pc. Most filaments have line densities in the range $25\, {\rm M_{_\odot }\, pc^{-1}}$ to $65\, {\rm M_{_\odot }\, pc^{-1}}$. If their only support is thermal gas pressure, and the gas is at the canonical temperature of 10 K, the filaments are highly supercritical. However, there is some evidence from ammonia observations that the gas is significantly warmer than this, and we cannot rule out the possibility of additional support from turbulence and/or magnetic fields. On the basis of their spatial distribution, we argue that most of the starless cores are likely to disperse (rather than evolving to become prestellar).

Studies of the distinct regions due to CO selective dissociation in the Aquila molecular cloud

Aims. We investigate the role of selective dissociation in the process of star formation by comparing the physical parameters of protostellar-prestellar cores and the selected regions with the CO isotope distributions in photo-dissociation regions. We seek to understand whether there is a better connection between the evolutionary age of star forming regions and the effect of selective dissociation Methods. We used wide-field observations of the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O (J = 1–0) emission lines to study the ongoing star formation activity in the Aquila molecular region, and we used the 70 and 250 μm data to describe the heating of the surrounding material and as an indicator of the evolutionary age of the core. Results. The protostellar-prestellar cores are found at locations with the highest C18O column densities and their increasing evolutionary age coincides with an increasing 70μm/250μm emission ratio at their location. The evolutionary age of the cores may also follow from the 13CO versus C18O abundance ratio, which decreases with increasing C18O column densities. The original mass has been estimated for nine representative star formation regions and the original mass of the region correlates well with the integrated 70 μm flux density. Similarly, the X13CO/XC18O ratio, which provides the dissociation rate for these regions correlates with the 70 μm/250 μm flux density ratio and reflects the evolutionary age of the star formation activity.

First sample of N2H+ nitrogen isotopic ratio measurements in low-mass protostars

Context. The nitrogen isotopic ratio is considered an important diagnostic tool of the star formation process, and N2H+ is particularly important because it is directly linked to molecular nitrogen N2. However, theoretical models still do not provide an exhaustive explanation for the observed 14N/15N values. Aims. Recent theoretical works suggest that the 14N/15N behaviour is dominated by two competing reactions that destroy N2H+: dissociative recombination and reaction with CO. When CO is depleted from the gas phase, if the N2H+ recombination rate is lower with respect to that for N15NH+, the rarer isotopologue is destroyed more quickly. In prestellar cores, due to a combination of low temperatures and high densities, most CO is frozen in ices onto the dust grains, leading to high levels of depletion. On the contrary, in protostellar cores, where temperature are higher, CO ices evaporate back to the gas phase. This implies that the N2H+ isotopic ratio in protostellar cores should be lower than that in prestellar cores, and consistent with the elemental value of ≈440. We aim to test this hypothesis, producing the first sample of N2H+∕N15NH+ measurements in low-mass protostars. Methods. We observe the N2H+ and N15NH+ lowest rotational transition towards six young stellar objects in the Perseus and Taurus molecular clouds. We model the spectra with a custom python code using a constant Tex approach to fit the observations. We discuss in the Appendix the validity of this hypothesis. The derived column densities are used to compute the nitrogen isotopic ratios. Results. Our analysis yields an average of 14N/15N|pro = 420 ± 15 in the protostellar sample. This is consistent with the protosolar value of 440, and significantly lower than the average value previously obtained in a sample of prestellar objects. Conclusions. Our results are in agreement with the hypothesis that, when CO is depleted from the gas-phase, dissociative recombinations with free electrons destroy N15NH+ faster than N2H+, leading to high isotopic ratios in prestellar cores where carbon monoxide is frozen onto dust grains.