All quiet on the Western front? New evidence for massive star formation in Sgr C

Journal article

We summarize here our recent findings from near-infrared spectroscopy and 1 mm line and continuum observations of a recently identified extended green object (EGO) in Sgr C, whose observational characteristics suggest early-stage massive star formation is taking place. Located on the outskirts of the massive evolved Hii region associated with Sgr C in the Western central molecular zone (CMZ), the EGO measures ~10″ (0.4 pc at 8.5 kpc). We confirm that early-stage star formation is taking place on the periphery of the Sgr C Hii region. The data show clear detections of two protostellar cores and several knots of H2 and Brackett γ emission alongside a previously detected compact radio source. We calculate the cores' joint mass to be ~10 3 M⊙, with column densities of 1-2 × 10 24 cm-2. The host molecular clouds mass is approximately 105 M⊙. Despite these favorable conditions, the cloud is curiously devoid of any further star formation, making it comparable to other remarkably quiescent clouds, such as G0.253 in the Eastern CMZ. Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2014.

Authors: Kendrew, S; Ginsburg, A; Johnston, K; Beuther, H; Bally, J

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Journal: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union
• Volume: 9
• Issue: S303
• Pages: 220-222
• Publication date: 2014-01-01
• DOI: 10.1017/S174392131400060X
• EISSN: 1743-9221
• ISSN: 1743-9213
• Language: English