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Zhang, Qiyu

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Zhang, Qiyu

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    G11.92-061-MM2: A bonafide massive prestellar core?
    (IOP Publishing, 2014) Cyganowski, C. J.; Brogan, C. L.; Hunter, Tucker; Graninger, Dawn; Oberg, Karin; Vasyunin, A.; Zhang, Qiyu; Friesen, R.; Schnee, S.
    Core accretion models of massive star formation require the existence of stable massive starless cores, but robust observational examples of such objects have proven elusive. We report subarcsecond-resolution Submillimeter Array (SMA) 1.3 mm, 1.1 mm, and 0.88 mm and Very Large Array 1.3 cm observations of an excellent massive starless core candidate, G11.92-0.61-MM2, initially identified in the course of studies of GLIMPSE Extended Green Objects (EGOs). Separated by ~7.''2 from the nearby MM1 protostellar hot core, MM2 is a strong, compact dust continuum source (submillimeter spectral index α = 2.6 ± 0.1), but is devoid of star formation indicators. In contrast to MM1, MM2 has no masers, no centimeter continuum, and no (sub)millimeter wavelength line emission in ~24 GHz of bandwidth observed with the SMA, including N2H+(3-2), HCO+(3-2), and HCN(3-2). Additionally, there is no evidence for an outflow driven by MM2. The (sub)millimeter spectral energy distribution of MM2 is best fit with a dust temperature of ~17-19 K and luminosity of ~5-7 L ⊙. The combined physical properties of MM2, as inferred from its dust continuum emission, are extreme: M >~ 30 M ⊙ within a radius <1000 AU, N_H_2>1025 cm-2 and n_H_2 >109 cm-3. Comparison of the molecular abundance limits derived from our SMA observations with gas-grain chemical models indicates that extremely dense (n(H) Gt 108 cm-3), cold (<20 K) conditions are required to explain the lack of observed (sub)millimeter line emission, consistent with the dust continuum results. Our data suggest that G11.92-0.61-MM2 is the best candidate for a bonafide massive prestellar core found to date, and a promising target for future higher-sensitivity observations.