Triggered star formation on the borders of the Galactic HII region RCW 82

TL;DR

This study investigates triggered star formation at the borders of the Galactic HII region RCW 82 by analyzing molecular gas and young stellar objects to understand the role of collect and collapse processes.

Contribution

It provides CO observations and combines molecular gas data with YSO analysis to assess triggered star formation scenarios around RCW 82.

Findings

Molecular gas velocity distribution supports collect and collapse scenario.

Spatial correlation between YSOs and molecular gas suggests triggered star formation.

Analysis confirms association between ionized gas and neutral material in RCW 82.

Abstract

We are engaged in a multi-wavelength study of several Galactic HII regions that exhibit signposts of triggered star formation on their borders, and where the collect and collapse process could be at work. When addressing the question of triggered star formation it is critically important to ensure the real association between the ionized gas and the neutral material observed nearby. In this paper we stress this point, and present CO observations of the RCW 82 star forming region. The velocity distribution of the molecular gas is combined with the study of young stellar objects (YSOs) detected in the direction of RCW 82. We discuss the YSO's evolutionary status using near- and mid-IR data. The spatial and velocity distributions of the molecular gas are used to discuss the possible scenarios for the star formation around RCW 82.