High Velocity Molecular Outflows In Massive Cluster Forming Region G10.6-0.4

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution SMA observations to resolve energetic high-velocity molecular outflows in the massive cluster forming region G10.6-0.4, revealing their interaction with ambient gas and implications for star formation feedback.

Contribution

First detailed high-resolution mapping of outflows in G10.6-0.4, showing their energetic impact and role in turbulence regulation during massive star formation.

Findings

High velocity outflows are energetic and interact with ambient gas.

Star formation is widespread over the 0.5 pc envelope.

Outflow energy balances turbulence dissipation.

Abstract

We report the arcsecond resolution SMA observations of the $^{12}$CO (2-1) transition in the massive cluster forming region G10.6-0.4. In these observations, the high velocity $^{12}$CO emission is resolved into individual outflow systems, which have a typical size scale of a few arcseconds. These molecular outflows are energetic, and are interacting with the ambient molecular gas. By inspecting the shock signatures traced by CH$_{3}$OH, SiO, and HCN emissions, we suggest that abundant star formation activities are distributed over the entire 0.5 pc scale dense molecular envelope. The star formation efficiency over one global free-fall timescale (of the 0.5 pc molecular envelope, $\sim10^{5}$ years) is about a few percent. The total energy feedback of these high velocity outflows is higher than 10$^{47}$ erg, which is comparable to the total kinetic energy in the rotational motion of the dense molecular envelope. From order-of-magnitude estimations, we suggest that the energy injected from the protostellar outflows is capable of balancing the turbulent energy dissipation. No high velocity bipolar molecular outflow associated with the central OB cluster is directly detected, which can be due to the photo-ionization.