Radio Observations of the Star Formation Activities in the NGC 2024 FIR 4 Region

Abstract

Star formation activities in the NGC 2024 FIR 4 region were studied by imaging centimeter continuum sources and water maser sources using several archival data sets from the Very Large Array. The continuum source VLA 9 is elongated in the northwest-southeast direction, consistent with the FIR 4 bipolar outflow axis, and has a flat spectrum in the 6.2-3.6 cm interval. The three water maser spots associated with FIR 4 are also distributed along the outflow axis. One of the spots is located close to VLA 9, and another one is close to an X-ray source. Examinations of the positions of compact objects in this region suggest that the FIR 4 cloud core contains a single low-mass protostar. VLA 9 is the best indicator of the protostellar position. VLA 9 may be a radio thermal jet driven by this protostar, and it is unlikely that FIR 4 contains a high-mass young stellar object (YSO). A methanol 6.7 GHz maser source is located close to VLA 9, at a distance of about 100 AU. The FIR 4 protostar must be responsible for the methanol maser action, which suggests that methanol class II masers are not necessarily excited by high-mass YSOs. Also discussed are properties of other centimeter continuum sources in the field of view and the water masers associated with FIR 6n. Some of the continuum sources are radio thermal jets, and some are magnetically active young stars.

arXiv commentTo appear in the Astronomical Journal

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Cited by in corpus (4)

• HCN emission from translucent gas and UV-illuminated cloud edges revealed by wide-field IRAM 30m maps of Orion B GMC: Revisiting its role as tracer of the dense gas reservoir for star formation
• The APEX Large CO Heterodyne Orion Legacy Survey (ALCOHOLS). I. Survey overview
• Probing the early phases of high mass star formation with 6.7 GHz methanol masers
• Massive Quiescent Cores in Orion: VI. The Internal Structures and a Candidate of Transiting Core in NGC 2024 Filament