Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2002-06-28
Astrophys.J. 574 (2002) L163-L166
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
13 pages, 3 figures, To be published in Ap.J. Letters
Scientific paper
10.1086/342508
We present images of the J=10-9 rotational lines of HC3N in the vibrationally excited levels 1v7, 1v6 and 1v5 of the hot core (HC) in Orion KL. The images show that the spatial distribution and the size emission from the 1v7 and 1v5 levels are different. While the J=10-9 1v7 line has a size of 4''x 6'' and peaks 1.1'' NE of the 3 mm continuum peak, the J=10--9 1v5 line emission is unresolved (<3'') and peaks 1.3'' south of the 3 mm peak. This is a clear indication that the HC is composed of condensations with very different temperatures (170 K for the 1v7 peak and $>230$ K for the 1v5 peak). The temperature derived from the 1v7 and 1v5 lines increases with the projected distance to the suspected main heating source I. Projection effects along the line of sight could explain the temperature gradient as produced by source I. However, the large luminosity required for source I, >5 10^5 Lsolar, to explain the 1v5 line suggests that external heating by this source may not dominate the heating of the HC. Simple model calculations of the vibrationally excited emission indicate that the HC can be internally heated by a source with a luminosity of 10^5 Lsolar, located 1.2'' SW of the 1v5 line peak (1.8'' south of source I). We also report the first detection of high-velocity gas from vibrationally excited HC3N emission. Based on excitation arguments we conclude that the main heating source is also driving the molecular outflow. We speculate that all the data presented in this letter and the IR images are consistent with a young massive protostar embedded in an edge-on disk.
de Vicente P.
Martín-Pintado Jesús
Neri Roberto.
Rodriguez-Franco Arturo
No associations
LandOfFree
On the heating of source of the Orion KL hot core does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with On the heating of source of the Orion KL hot core, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and On the heating of source of the Orion KL hot core will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-646821