IRAS 19520+2759: a 10^5 Lsun massive young stellar object driving a collimated outflow

TL;DR

This study confirms IRAS 19520+2759 as a massive young stellar object with a collimated outflow, revealing a second outflow source and suggesting it may be a 'bloated' star due to high accretion rates.

Contribution

First detailed multi-wavelength observational analysis establishing IRAS 19520+2759 as a massive YSO with outflows and potential 'bloated' star status.

Findings

IRAS 19520+2759 is a massive YSO with a collimated outflow.

Discovery of a second outflow-driving millimetre source.

Evidence supporting the 'bloated' star theoretical model.

Abstract

The theory of massive star formation currently suffers from a scarce observational base of massive young stellar objects to compare with. In this paper, we present OVRO CO(1-0), 13CO(1-0), C18O(1-0), and 2.6 mm continuum images of the infrared source IRAS 19520+2759 together with complementary single-dish observations of CS(1-0), obtained with the 34m antenna DSS-54 at the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, as well as archive images at different wavelengths. As a result from our work, IRAS 19520+2759, with a controversial nature in the past, is firmly established as a massive young stellar object associated with a strong and compact millimetre source and driving a collimated outflow. In addition, a second fainter millimetre source is discovered about 4 arcsec to the south, which is also driving an outflow. Furthermore, the two millimetre sources are associated with C18O clumps elongated perpendicularly to the outflows, which may be related to rotating toroids. The masses of gas and dust of the millimetre sources are estimated to be around 100 and 50 Msun. MM1, the dominant source at all wavelengths, with a total luminosity of (1-2)x10^5 Lsun at 9 kpc, is however not associated with 6 cm emission down to a rms noise level of 0.1 mJy. We propose that IRAS 19520+2759 could be an example of the recent theoretical prediction of `bloated' or `swollen' star, i.e., a massive young stellar object whose radius has increased due to effects of accretion at a high-mass accretion rate.