Breaking Orion's Veil bubble with fossil outflows

Abstract

The role of feedback in the self-regulation of star formation is a fundamental question in astrophysics. The Orion Nebula is the nearest site of ongoing and recent massive star formation. It is a unique laboratory for the study of stellar feedback. Recent SOFIA [CII] 158 $\mu$m observations revealed an expanding bubble, the Veil shell, being powered by stellar winds and ionization feedback. We have identified a protrusion-like substructure in the Northwest portion of the Orion Veil Shell that may indicate additional feedback mechanisms that are highly directional. Our goal is to investigate the origin of the protrusion by quantifying its possible driving mechanisms. We use the [CII] 158 $\mu$m map of the Orion Nebula obtained with the upGREAT instrument onboard SOFIA. The spectral and spatial resolution of the observations are 0.3 km/s and 16 arcsec, respectively. We consider three possible origins for this protrusion: Fossil outflow cavities created by jets/outflows during the protostellar accretion phase, pre-existing clumpiness in the OMC-1 core, and the stellar wind during the main sequence phase. Based on the energetics and the morphology, we conclude that the northwestern part of the pre-existing cloud was locally perturbed by outflows ejected from massive protostars in the Trapezium cluster. This suggests that the protrusion of the Veil is the result of mechanical rather than radiative feedback. Furthermore, we argue that the location of the protrusion is a suitable place to break the Orion Veil owing to the photo-ablation from the walls of the protrusion. We conclude that the outflows of massive protostars can influence the morphology of the future \hii\,region and even cause breakages in the ionization front. Specifically, the interaction of stellar winds of main-sequence stars with the molecular core pre-processed by the protostellar jet is important.

Accepted by A&A on Feb 9, 2022 (20 pages, 19 figures)

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Cited by in corpus (2)

• The SOFIA FEEDBACK Legacy Survey: Rapid molecular cloud dispersal in RCW 79
• SOFIA FEEDBACK survey: PDR diagnostics of stellar feedback in different regions of RCW 49