Mass-size scaling M~ r^1.67 of massive star-forming clumps -- evidences of turbulence-regulated gravitational collapse

Abstract

We study the fragmentation of eight massive clumps using data from ATLASGAL 870 $\mu$m, SCUBA 850 and 450 $\mu$m, PdBI 1.3 and 3.5 mm, and probe the fragmentation from 1 pc to 0.01 pc scale. We find that the masses and the sizes of our objects follow $M\sim r^{1.68\pm 0.05}$. The results are in agreements with the predictions of Li (2017) where $M\sim r^{5/3}$. Inside each object, the densest structures seem to be centrally condensed, with $\rho (r)\sim r^{-2}$. Our observational results support a scenario where molecular gas in the Milky Way is supported by a turbulence characterized by a constant energy dissipation rate, and gas fragments like clumps and cores are structures which are massive enough to be dynamically detached from the ambient medium.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in MNRAS

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