Clump-scale Gas Infall in High-mass Star Formation: a Multi-transition View with JCMT HCN (4--3) Mapping

TL;DR

This study uses JCMT HCN (4-3) mapping to investigate gas infall in high-mass star-forming regions, revealing complex gas motions and estimating steady accretion rates through analysis of blue spectral line profiles.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed mapping of HCN (4-3) in high-mass star-forming clumps and links spectral line profiles to infall motions with quantitative infall rate estimates.

Findings

Blue profiles do not always indicate infall in HCN (4-3).

Estimated mass infall rates range from 4.5E-3 to 7.6E-3 Msun/year.

High-resolution observations are crucial for accurate infall detection.

Abstract

Gas infall motions play a crucial role in high-mass star formation and are characterized by observable signatures in the form of blue-shifted asymmetric spectral line profiles ("blue profiles"). However, the connection between blue profiles and infall motions is unclear due to complex gas motions at parsec scales. In this study, we present the results of an HCN (4-3) mapping survey conducted with the JCMT, towards 38 massive clumps exhibiting blue profiles in HCO+ (3-2). We extract 34 HCN cores from the 38 observed fields. The core-averaged spectra show various line profiles, indicating that blue-profile HCO+ (3-2) does not guarantee the same in HCN (4-3). Through non-LTE radiation transfer calculations, we attribute the low detection rate of high-$J$ blue profiles to a combination of insufficient HCN (4-3) opacity and intricate gas motion across different density layers. The comparison between the MALT90 and BGPS line surveys highlights the importance of appropriate tracers, high spectral resolution, and column density thresholds when searching for blue profiles. We select 11 reliable infall candidates and adopt the Hill5 model to fit the infall velocity of 0.2-1.9 km/s, corresponding to 5% to 74% of free-fall velocity. Assuming a spherically collapsing model, we estimate the median and mean mass infall rates to be 4.5E-3 and 7.6E-3 Msun/year, respectively. The consistency of the mass infall rates among different transitions suggests a steady accretion process from the clump gas envelope to the inner region.