A new phase of massive star formation? A luminous outflow cavity centred on an infrared quiet core

Abstract

We present APEX, infrared and radio continuum observations of the G345.88-1.10 hub filament system which is a newly discovered star-forming cloud that hosts an unusually bright bipolar infrared nebulosity at its centre. At a distance of 2.26${}_{-0.21}^{+0.30}$ kpc, G345.88-1.10 exhibits a network of parsec-long converging filaments. At the junction of these filaments lie four infrared-quiet fragments. The densest fragment (with M=210 M${}_{\odot }$, R${}_{\mathrm{eff}}=0.14$ pc) sits at the centre of a wide (opening angle of $\sim$ 90$\pm$15${}^o$) bipolar nebulosity. ${}^{12}$CO(2-1) observations show that these infrared-bright nebulosities are spatially associated with a powerful molecular outflow from the central fragment. Negligible radio continuum and no H30$\alpha$ emission is detected towards the cavities, seemingly excluding that ionising radiation drives the evolution of the cavities. Furthermore, radiative transfer simulations are unable to reproduce the observed combination of a low-luminosity ($\lesssim$ 500 L${}_{\odot }$) central source and a surrounding high-luminosity ($\sim 4000$ L${}_{\odot }$) mid-infrared-bright bipolar cavity. This suggests that radiative heating from a central protostar cannot be responsible for the illumination of the outflow cavities. To our knowledge, this is the first reported object of this type. The rarity of objects like G345.88-1.10 is likely related to a very short phase in the massive star and/or cluster formation process that was so far unidentified. We discuss whether mechanical energy deposition by one episode or successive episodes of powerful mass accretion in a collapsing hub might explain the observations. While promising in some aspects, a fully coherent scenario that explains the presence of a luminous bipolar cavity centred on an infrared-dark fragment remains elusive at this point.

23 pages, 22 figures, accepted in A&A

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