An ALMA study of the massive molecular clump N159W-North in the Large Magellanic Cloud: A possible gas flow penetrating one of the most massive protocluster systems in the Local Group

TL;DR

This ALMA study reveals a massive protocluster in the Large Magellanic Cloud, showing complex gas flows and filamentary structures that suggest large-scale gas compression drives extreme star formation.

Contribution

First detailed ALMA observations of N159W-North revealing its protocluster nature and proposing a new 'teardrops inflow model' for massive star formation.

Findings

Identification of multiple protostellar sources with CO outflows.

Detection of massive starless core candidates within the clump.

Evidence of large-scale gas flows and filamentary structures indicating gas compression.

Abstract

Massive dense clumps in the Large Magellanic Cloud can be an important laboratory to explore the formation of populous clusters. We report multiscale ALMA observations of the N159W-North clump, which is the most CO-intense region in the galaxy. High-resolution CO isotope and 1.3 mm continuum observations with an angular resolution of $\sim$0."25($\sim$0.07 pc) revealed more than five protostellar sources with CO outflows within the main ridge clump. One of the thermal continuum sources, MMS-2, shows especially massive/dense nature whose total H$_2$ mass and peak column density are $\sim$10$^{4}$ $M_{\odot}$ and $\sim$10$^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$, respectively, and harbors massive ($\sim$100 $M_{\odot}$) starless core candidates identified as its internal substructures. The main ridge containing this source can be categorized as one of the most massive protocluster systems in the Local Group. The CO high-resolution observations found several distinct filamentary clouds extending southward from the star-forming spots. The CO (1-0) data set with a larger field of view reveals a conical-shaped, $\sim$30 pc long complex extending toward the northern direction. These features indicate that a large-scale gas compression event may have produced the massive star-forming complex. Based on the striking similarity between the N159W-North complex and the previously reported other two high-mass star-forming clouds in the nearby regions, we propose a $"$teardrops inflow model$"$ that explains the synchronized, extreme star formation across $>$50 pc, including one of the most massive protocluster clumps in the Local Group.