The relation between 13CO(2-1) line width in molecular clouds and bolometric luminosity of associated IRAS sources

TL;DR

This study finds a significant correlation between 13CO line width in molecular clouds and the bolometric luminosity of associated young stellar objects, suggesting more luminous YSOs are linked to more massive and turbulent clouds.

Contribution

It provides the first large-scale statistical analysis linking 13CO line width with YSO luminosity, revealing a power-law relation in high-mass star-forming regions.

Findings

Good correlation between 13CO line width and YSO luminosity.

Luminous YSOs (>10^3Lsolar) are associated with more massive, turbulent clouds.

Power-law relation: lg(dV13/km/s)=-0.023+0.135lg(Lbol/Lsolar).

Abstract

We search for evidence of a relation between properties of young stellar objects (YSOs) and their parent molecular clouds to understand the initial conditions of high-mass star formation. A sample of 135 sources was selected from the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) Point Source Catalog, on the basis of their red color to enhance the possibility of discovering young sources. Using the Kolner Observatorium fur SubMillimeter Astronomie (KOSMA) 3-m telescope, a single-point survey in 13CO(2-1) was carried out for the entire sample, and 14 sources were mapped further. Archival mid-infrared (MIR) data were compared with the 13CO emissions to identify evolutionary stages of the sources. A 13CO observed sample was assembled to investigate the correlation between 13CO line width of the clouds and the luminosity of the associated YSOs. We identified 98 sources suitable for star formation analyses for which relevant parameters were calculated. We detected 18 cores from 14 mapped sources, which were identified with eight pre-UC HII regions and one UC HII region, two high-mass cores earlier than pre-UC HII phase, four possible star forming clusters, and three sourceless cores. By compiling a large (360 sources) 13CO observed sample, a good correlation was found between the 13CO line width of the clouds and the bolometric luminosity of the associated YSOs, which can be fitted as a power law: lg(dV13/km/s)=-0.023+0.135lg(Lbol/Lsolar). Results show that luminous (>10^3Lsolar) YSOs tend to be associated with both more massive and more turbulent (dV13>2km/s) molecular cloud structures.