Discovery of two embedded massive YSOs and an outflow in IRAS 18144-1723

TL;DR

This study reveals that IRAS 18144-1723 hosts at least two massive young stellar objects within an isolated cloud, with observed outflows indicating active star formation and providing detailed properties of the embedded sources.

Contribution

It is the first detailed multi-wavelength analysis confirming multiple YSOs and outflows in IRAS 18144, challenging the idea that massive stars form solely in clusters.

Findings

Detection of at least two YSOs in IRAS 18144

Identification of an outflow aligned with H2 emission

Derived mass of the cloud and YSO hosting core

Abstract

Massive stars are rarely seen to form in isolation. It has been proposed that association with companions or clusters in the formative stages is vital to their mass accumulation. In this paper we study IRAS~18144-1723, a massive young stellar object (YSO) which had been perceived in early studies as a single source. In the CO(3-2) line, we detect an outflow aligned well with the outflow seen in H$_2$ in this region. We show that there are at least two YSOs here, and that the outflow is most likely to be from a deeply embedded source detected in our infrared imaging. Using multi-wavelength observations, we study the outflow and the embedded source and derive their properties. We conclude that IRAS~18144 hosts an isolated cloud, in which at least two massive YSOs are being born. From our sub-mm observations, we derive the mass of the cloud and the core hosting the YSOs.