Unveiling the Early-Stage Anatomy of a Protocluster Hub with ALMA

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ALMA observations to reveal that a protocluster hub in an IRDC consists of multiple narrow filaments with embedded cores, providing insights into early high-mass star formation.

Contribution

It presents the detailed anatomy of a protocluster hub, showing multiple independent filaments narrower than typical interstellar filaments, and coeval low- and high-mass star formation.

Findings

Filaments are narrower than the typical 0.1 pc width.

28 compact objects identified with a wide mass range.

The hub comprises multiple independent filaments, not a monolithic structure.

Abstract

High-mass stars shape the interstellar medium in galaxies, and yet, largely because the initial conditions are poorly constrained, we do not know how they form. One possibility is that high-mass stars and star clusters form at the junction of filamentary networks, referred to as 'hubs'. In this letter we present the complex anatomy of a protocluster hub within an Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC), G035.39-00.33, believed to be in an early phase of its evolution. We use high-angular resolution ($\{\theta_{\rm maj}, \theta_{\rm min}\}=\{1.4{\rm arcsec}, 0.8{\rm arcsec}\}\sim\{0.02{\rm pc}, 0.01{\rm pc}\}$) and high-sensitivity ($0.2$mJy beam$^{-1}$; $\sim0.2$M$_{\odot}$) 1.07 mm dust continuum observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) to identify a network of narrow, $0.028\,\pm\,0.005$pc wide, filamentary structures. These are a factor of $\gtrsim3$ narrower than the proposed 'quasi-universal' $\sim0.1$pc width of interstellar filaments. Additionally, 28 compact objects are reported, spanning a mass range $0.3{\rm M_{\odot}}<M_{\rm c}<10.4{\rm M_{\odot}}$. This indicates that at least some low-mass objects are forming coevally with more massive counterparts. Comparing to the popular 'bead-on-a-string' analogy, the protocluster hub is poorly represented by a monolithic clump embedded within a single filament. Instead, it comprises multiple intra-hub filaments, each of which retains its integrity as an independent structure and possesses its own embedded core population.