A Multi-wavelength Study of the Massive Star-forming Region S87

TL;DR

This multi-wavelength study of S87 reveals three massive star-forming clumps with different evolutionary stages, highlighting cloud-cloud collision as a trigger for star formation and identifying various phases of stellar development.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive multi-wavelength analysis of S87, identifying multiple star formation phases and the role of cloud-cloud collision in triggering activity.

Findings

SMM1 and SMM3 are high- and intermediate-mass star-forming sites.

SMM2 is a cold high-mass starless core.

Star formation in S87 involves multiple evolutionary stages.

Abstract

This article presents a multi-wavelength study towards S87, based on a dataset of submillimeter/far-/mid-infrared (sub-mm/FIR/MIR) images and molecular line maps. The sub-mm continuum emission measured with JCMT/SCUBA reveals three individual clumps, namely, SMM1, SMM2, and SMM3. The MIR/FIR images obtained by the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that both SMM1 and SMM3 harbor point sources. The J=1-0 transitions of CO, 13CO, C18O, and HCO+, measured with the 13.7m telescope of the Purple Mountain Observatory, exhibit asymmetric line profiles. Our analysis of spectral energy distributions (SEDs) shows that all of the three sub-mm clumps are massive (110--210 $M_{\odot}$), with average dust temperatures in the range ~20--40K. A multi-wavelength comparison convinces us that the asymmetric profiles of molecular lines should result from two clouds at slightly different velocities, and it further confirms that the star-forming activity in SMM1 is stimulated by a cloud-cloud collision. The stellar contents and SEDs suggest that SMM1 and SMM3 are high-mass and intermediate-mass star-forming sites respectively. However, SMM2 has no counterpart downwards 70 micron, which is likely to be a cold high-mass starless core. These results, as mentioned above, expose multiple phases of star formation in S87.