Influence of Wolf-Rayet stars on surrounding star-forming molecular clouds

TL;DR

This study examines how Wolf-Rayet stars influence their surrounding molecular clouds, revealing that their winds create cavities and shells that can both suppress and potentially trigger star formation in nearby regions.

Contribution

It provides observational evidence of W-R stars shaping molecular clouds through wind-driven feedback, highlighting both quenching and possible star formation triggering mechanisms.

Findings

W-R stars create gas-deficient cavities and expanding shells in molecular clouds.

Star formation is absent inside cavities but active around shells.

W-R wind feedback can both suppress and promote star formation.

Abstract

We investigate the influence of Wolf-Rayet (W-R) stars on their surrounding star-forming molecular clouds. We study five regions containing W-R stars in the inner Galactic plane ($l\sim$[14$^\circ$-52$^\circ$]), using multi-wavelength data from near-infrared to radio wavelengths. Analysis of $^{13}$CO line data reveals that these W-R stars have developed gas-deficient cavities in addition to molecular shells with expansion velocities of a few km s$^{-1}$. The pressure owing to stellar winds primarily drives these expanding shells and sweeps up the surrounding matter to distances of a few pc. The column densities of shells are enhanced by a minimum of 14% for one region to a maximum of 88% for another region with respect to the column densities within their central cavities. No active star formation - including molecular condensations, protostars, or ionized gas - is found inside the cavities, whereas such features are observed around the molecular shells. Although the expansion of ionized gas is considered an effective mechanism to trigger star formation, the dynamical ages of the HII regions in our sample are generally not sufficiently long to do so efficiently. Overall, our results hint at the possible importance of negative W-R wind-driven feedback on the gas-deficient cavities, where star formation is quenched as a consequence. In addition, the presence of active star formation around the molecular shells indicates that W-R stars may also assist in accumulating molecular gas, and that they could initiate star formation around those shells.