Into the Mystic: the MUSE view of the ionized gas in the Mystic Mountains in Carina

TL;DR

This study uses MUSE IFU observations to analyze the ionized gas, jets, and photoevaporation processes in the Mystic Mountains of Carina, estimating their lifetime and impact on star and planet formation.

Contribution

It provides detailed physical measurements of ionized gas and jets in the Mystic Mountains, and estimates their remaining lifetime considering ionization feedback and molecular gas data.

Findings

Jets are high-density, low-ionization outflows.

Photoevaporation significantly affects the structure and lifetime of the Mystic Mountains.

Ionization-driven compression may influence star formation and planet formation environments.

Abstract

We present optical integral field unit (IFU) observations of the Mystic Mountains, a dust pillar complex in the center of the Carina Nebula that is heavily irradiated by the nearby young massive cluster Trumpler 14. With the continuous spatial and spectral coverage of data from the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE), we measure the physical properties in the ionized gas including the electron density and temperature, excitation, and ionization. MUSE also provides an excellent view of the famous jets HH 901, 902, and 1066, revealing them to be high-density, low-ionization outflows despite the harsh environment. HH 901 shows spatially extended [C I] emission tracing the rapid dissociation of the photoevaporating molecular outflow in this highly irradiated source. We compute the photoevaporation rate of the Mystic Mountains and combine it with recent ALMA observations of the cold molecular gas to estimate the remaining lifetime of the Mystic Mountains and the corresponding shielding time for the embedded protostars. The longest remaining lifetimes are for the smallest structures, suggesting that they have been compressed by ionizing feedback. Our data do not suggest that star formation in the Mystic Mountains has been triggered but it does point to the role that ionization-driven compression may play in enhancing the shielding of embedded stars and disks. Planet formation models suggest that the shielding time is a strong determinant of the mass and orbital architecture of planets, making it important to quantify in high-mass regions like Carina that represent the type of environment where most stars form.