IC 5146 dark Streamer: is a first reliable candidate of edge collapse, hub-filament systems, and intertwined sub-filaments?

TL;DR

This study analyzes the IC 5146 dark Streamer, revealing intertwined sub-filaments, hub-filament systems, and evidence supporting edge collapse and cloud-cloud collision scenarios in a star-forming region.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive observational evidence linking edge collapse, hub-filament systems, and intertwined sub-filaments in a single star-forming filament.

Findings

Discovery of double helix-like intertwined sub-filaments.

Identification of cloud components and their connection via cloud-cloud collision.

Confirmation of edge collapse and hub-filament system presence.

Abstract

The paper presents an analysis of multi-wavelength data of a nearby star-forming site IC 5146 dark Streamer (d $\sim$600 pc), which has been treated as a single and long filament, fl. Two hub-filament systems (HFSs) are known toward the eastern and the western ends of fl. Earlier published results favor the simultaneous evidence of HFSs and the end-dominated collapse (EDC) in fl. Herschel column density map (resolution $\sim$13$''$.5) reveals two intertwined sub-filaments (i.e., fl-A and fl-B) toward fl, displaying a nearly double helix-like structure. This picture is also supported by the C$^{18}$O(3-2) emission. The scenario "fray and fragment" may explain the origin of intertwined sub-filaments. In the direction of fl, two cloud components around 2 and 4 km s$^{-1}$ are depicted using the $^{13}$CO(1-0) and C$^{18}$O(1-0) emission, and are connected in velocity space. The HFSs are spatially found at the overlapping areas of these cloud components and can be explained by the cloud-cloud collision scenario. Non-thermal gas motion in fl with larger Mach number is found. The magnetic field position angle measured from the filament's long axis shows a linear trend along the filament. This signature is confirmed in the other nearby EDC filaments, presenting a more quantitative confirmation of the EDC scenario. Based on our observational outcomes, we witness multiple processes operational in IC 5146 Streamer. Overall, the Streamer can be recognized as the first reliable candidate of edge collapse, HFSs, and intertwined sub-filaments together.