Blue profile in different evolutionary stages of massive star forming regions

  • Published : 2015.04.10

Abstract

Gravitational collapse is a dynamical process associated with star formation. One observational evidence of such infall motion is so called "blue asymmetry" profile, which is the optically thick line profile with the intensity peak skewed blueward relative to the intensity peak of optically thin lines. We analyzed both HCN J=1-0 and HNC J=1-0 line profiles to study the inflow motion in different evolutionary stages of massive star formation; Infrared dark clouds (IRDCs), High-mass protostellar object (HMPOs), and Ultra-compact HII regions (UCHIIs). The infall asymmetry in the HCN spectra seems to be more prevalent than the HNC spectra throughout all the three evolutionary phases. The prevalence of the blue profile in the HCN spectra is found in every evolutionary stage, with IRDCs showing the largest blue excess. In the case of the HNC spectra, only IRDCs show the blue excess statistically significant. These results suggest that HCN may be a better infall tracer in massive star forming region. In addition, even though the characteristics of the blue profile largely depend on the suitable combination of optical depth and critical density, our analyses also indicate that IRDCs may have the most active infall process compared to other evolutionary phases.

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