The Detection of Higher-Order Millimeter Hydrogen Recombination Lines in the Large Magellanic Cloud

TL;DR

This paper reports the first extragalactic detection of higher-order millimeter hydrogen recombination lines in the Large Magellanic Cloud, analyzing the physical properties and environment of a star-forming region with ALMA.

Contribution

It presents the first detection of higher-order millimeter hydrogen recombination lines in an extragalactic source and characterizes the physical and molecular environment of a star-forming region in the LMC.

Findings

Detection of multiple hydrogen recombination lines in the LMC region.

N105-1A is similar to luminous Galactic UC H II regions.

Evidence for cloud-cloud collision triggering star formation.

Abstract

We report the first extragalactic detection of the higher-order millimeter hydrogen recombination lines ($\Delta n>2$). The $\gamma$-, $\epsilon$-, and $\eta$-transitions have been detected toward the millimeter continuum source N105-1A in the star-forming region N105 in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We use the H40$\alpha$ line, the brightest of the detected recombination lines (H40$\alpha$, H36$\beta$, H50$\beta$, H41$\gamma$, H57$\gamma$, H49$\epsilon$, H53$\eta$, and H54$\eta$), and/or the 3 mm free-free continuum emission to determine the physical parameters of N105-1A (the electron temperature, emission measure, electron density, and size) and study ionized gas kinematics. We compare the physical properties of N105-1A to a large sample of Galactic compact and ultracompact (UC) H II regions and conclude that N105-1A is similar to the most luminous ($L>10^5$ $L_{\odot}$) UC H II regions in the Galaxy. N105-1A is ionized by an O5.5 V star, it is deeply embedded in its natal molecular clump, and likely associated with a (proto)cluster. We incorporate high-resolution molecular line data including CS, SO, SO$_2$, and CH$_3$OH ($\sim$0.12 pc), and HCO$^{+}$ and CO ($\sim$0.087 pc) to explore the molecular environment of N105-1A. Based on the CO data, we find evidence for a cloud-cloud collision that likely triggered star formation in the region. We find no clear outflow signatures, but the presence of filaments and streamers indicates on-going accretion onto the clump hosting the UC H II region. Sulfur chemistry in N105-1A is consistent with the accretion shock model predictions.