The Young Ages of 70 {\mu}m-dark Clumps Inferred from Carbon Chain Chemistry

TL;DR

This study uses carbon chain molecule observations in high-mass star-forming regions to estimate their ages, revealing these dark clumps are young and likely early in the star formation process.

Contribution

First to analyze HC$_5$N, CCS, and HC$_7$N in 70 micron-dark clumps, providing chemical age estimates supporting their early evolutionary stage.

Findings

HC$_5$N and CCS detected in most sources

HC$_7$N detected via stacking, indicating presence in the sample

Estimated ages less than 1 Myr for the clumps

Abstract

The physical conditions of the earliest environment of high-mass star formation are currently poorly understood. To that end, we present observations of the carbon chain molecules HC$_5$N , CCS, and HC$_7$N in the 22-25 GHz band towards 12 high-mass 70 micron-dark clumps (SMDC) with the Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We detect HC$_5$N and CCS towards 11 of these SMDC sources. We calculate column densities and abundances relative to H$_2$ for HC$_5$N and CCS. We do not find any clear HC$_7$N detections in the 11 sources individually, but by stacking the HC$_7$N spectra, we do detect HC$_7$N on average in these sources. We also calculate the ratio of the column densities of HC$_5$N to HC$_7$N using the stacked spectra of both species. We compare our measured abundances of HC$_5$N and our measured ratio of HC$_5$N to HC$_7$N to the UMIST dark cloud chemistry models to constrain an age for the gas assuming a fixed volume density and temperature. The chemical models favor a chemical evolutionary age less than 1 Myr at densities of n(H2) = 2 x 10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$. The consistent carbon-chain detections and young model-derived ages support the conclusion that these 11 70 micron-dark clumps lack high mass protostars because they are young and not because they are inefficient and incapable of high mass star formation.