X-ray embedded stars as driving sources of outflow-driven turbulence in OMC1-S

TL;DR

This study uses deep X-ray observations to identify embedded young stars in OMC1-S, linking them to molecular outflows and HH objects, and demonstrating their role in driving turbulence and influencing star formation.

Contribution

It introduces a method of using X-ray data to accurately identify outflow driving sources in a highly obscured star-forming region, improving understanding of feedback processes.

Findings

86% of outflows have associated X-ray detected sources

X-ray detected sources are very young, around 10^5 years old

Outflows can account for turbulence and regulate star formation efficiency

Abstract

Outflows arising from very young stars affect their surroundings and influence the star formation in the parental core. Multiple molecular outflows and Herbig-Haro (HH) objects have been observed in Orion, many of them originating from the embedded massive star-forming region known as OMC1-S. The detection of the outflow driving sources is commonly difficult, because they are still hidden behind large extinction, preventing their direct observation at optical and even near and mid-IR wavelengths. With the aim of improving the identification of the driving sources of the multiple outflows detected in OMC1-S, we used the catalog provided by deep X-ray observations, which have unveiled the very embedded population of pre-main sequence stars. We compared the position of stars observed by the Chandra Orion Ultra Deep project (COUP) in OMC1-S with the morphology of the molecular outflows and the directions of measured proper motions of HH optical objects. We find that 6 out of 7 molecular outflows reported in OMC1-S (detection rate of 86 %) have an extincted X-ray COUP star located at the expected position of the driving source. In several cases, X-rays detected the possible driving sources for the first time. This clustered embedded population revealed by Chandra is very young, with an estimated average age of few 10^{5} yr. It is also likely responsible for the multiple HH objects, which are the optical correspondence of flows arising from the cloud. We show that the molecular outflows driven by the members of the OMC1-S cluster can account for the observed turbulence at core-scales and regulate the star formation efficiency. We discuss the effects of outflow feedback in the formation of massive stars, concluding that the injected turbulence in OMC1-S is compatible with a competitive accretion scenario.