Pillars of creation amongst destruction: Star formation in molecular clouds near R136 in 30 Doradus

Abstract

New sensitive CO(2-1) observations of the 30 Doradus region in the Large Magellanic Cloud are presented. We identify a chain of three newly discovered molecular clouds we name KN1, KN2 and KN3 lying within 2--14 pc in projection from the young massive cluster R136 in 30 Doradus. Excited H${}_2$ 2.12$\mu$m emission is spatially coincident with the molecular clouds, but ionized Br$\gamma$ emission is not. We interpret these observations as the tails of pillar-like structures whose ionized heads are pointing towards R136. Based on infrared photometry, we identify a new generation of stars forming within this structure.

Accepted for publication in ApJ (includes 13 pages, 8 figures). For higher resolution figures please see http://www.das.uchile.cl/~vkalari/staplervk.pdf

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Cited by in corpus (9)

• Resolving the core of R136 in the optical
• The 30 Doradus Molecular Cloud at 0.4 pc Resolution with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array: Physical Properties and the Boundedness of CO-emitting Structures
• CO(2-1) Survey at 9 parsec resolution in the SMC
• Very-high-energy $\gamma$-ray emission from young massive star clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud
• VLT/X-shooter spectroscopy of massive young stellar objects in the 30 Doradus region of the Large Magellanic Cloud
• Extinction towards the cluster R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud: An extinction law from the near-infrared to the ultraviolet
• Properties of star formation of the Large Magellanic Cloud as probed by young stellar objects
• Formation Mechanism of Laser-Driven Magnetized "Pillars of Creation"
• Dense clumps survive in the vicinity of R136 in 30 Doradus