Blue excesses in different evolutionary stages of massive star-forming regions

  • Published : 2015.10.15

Abstract

We analyzed both HCN J=1-0 and HNC J=1-0 line profiles to study the inflow motions 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 HCN spectra seems to be prevalent throughout all the three evolutionary phases, with IRDCs showing the largest excess in blue profile. In the case of HNC spectra, the prevalence of blue sources does not appear, excepting for IRDCs. We suggest that this line is not appropriate to trace infall motion in evolved stages of massive star formation because of an astrochemical effect. This result spotlights the importance of considering chemistry in dynamical study in star-forming regions. The fact that the IRDCs show the highest blue excess in both infall tracers indicates that the most active infall occurs in the early phase of star formation, i.e., the IRDC phase rather than in the later phases. However, the UCHIIs is likely still accreting matters. We also found that the absorption dips of the HNC spectra in all blue sources are red--shifted relative to their central velocities. These red-shifted absorption dips may indicate the observational signature of overall collapse although observations with better resolutions are needed to examine this feature more in detail.

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