IRAS23385+6053: An embedded massive cluster in the making

Abstract

This study is part of the project ``CORE'', an IRAM/NOEMA large program consisting of observations of the millimeter continuum and molecular line emission towards 20 selected high-mass star forming regions. We focus on IRAS23385+6053, which is believed to be the least evolved source of the CORE sample. The observations were performed at ~1.4 mm and employed three configurations of NOEMA and additional single-dish maps, merged with the interferometric data to recover the extended emission. Our correlator setup covered a number of lines from well-known hot core tracers and a few outflow tracers. The angular (~0.45"$-$0.9") and spectral (0.5 km/s) resolutions were sufficient to resolve the clump in IRAS23385+6053 and investigate the existence of large-scale motions due to rotation, infall, or expansion. We find that the clump splits into six distinct cores when observed at sub-arcsecond resolution. These are identified through their 1.4 mm continuum and molecular line emission. We produce maps of the velocity, line width, and rotational temperature from the methanol and methyl cyanide lines, which allow us to investigate the cores and reveal a velocity and temperature gradient in the most massive core. We also find evidence of a bipolar outflow, possibly powered by a low-mass star. We present the tentative detection of a circumstellar self-gravitating disk lying in the most massive core and powering a large-scale outflow previously known in the literature. In our scenario, the star powering the flow is responsible for most of the luminosity of IRAS23385+6053 (~$3000L_{\odot }$). The other cores, albeit with masses below the corresponding virial masses, appear to be accreting material from their molecular surroundings and are possibly collapsing or on the verge of collapse. We conclude that we are observing a sample of star-forming cores that is bound to turn into a cluster of massive stars.

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Cited by in corpus (7)

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• The diverse chemistry of protoplanetary disks as revealed by JWST
• JOYS: JWST Observations of Young protoStars: Outflows and accretion in the high-mass star-forming region IRAS23385+605
• Multi-scale view of star formation in IRAS 21078+5211: From clump fragmentation to disk wind
• The evolution of temperature and density structures of OB cluster-forming molecular clumps
• JOYS: Disentangling the warm and cold material in the high-mass IRAS 23385+6053 cluster
• The physical and chemical structure of high-mass star-forming regions. Unraveling chemical complexity with the NOEMA large program "CORE"