2006/05/18 by T. R. Hunter, C. L. Brogan, S. T. Megeath +4 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/505965
published as Astrophys.J.649:888-893,2006 · 6 pages, 3 figures, to appear in The Astrophysical Journal
arxiv created 2006/05/18 · openalex publication_date 2006/09/27 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we have imaged the 1.3 mm continuum emission at the centers of the massive star-forming regions NGC 6334 I and I(N). In both regions, the SMA observations resolve the emission into multiple millimeter sources, with most of the sources clustered into areas only 10,000 AU in diameter. Toward NGC 6334 I, we find four compact sources: the two brightest (I-SMA1 and I-SMA2) are associated with previously known ammonia cores; I-SMA3 coincides with the peak of the compact H II region (NGC 6334 F), and I-SMA4 is a newly discovered object. While I-SMA3 exhibits a mixture of free-free and dust emission, the rest of the objects are dust cores. Toward NGC 6334 I(N), seven compact dust cores are found, one of which is associated with a faint centimeter source. With the exception of I-SMA3, none of the millimeter sources have infrared counterparts in Spitzer Space Telescope 3-8 μm images. Using a simple physical model for the dust continuum emission, we estimate that the mass of the interstellar material toward each of these compact objects is in the range of 3-66 M ☉ . The total mass in the compact objects appears to be similar in I and I(N). The small size of these groups of sources suggest that these objects are proto-Trapezia forming in the centers of clusters of low- to intermediate-mass stars.