Based on the 850 µm dust continuum data from SCUBA-2 at James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT), we compare overall properties of Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCCs) in the λ Orionis cloud to those of PGCCs in the Orion A and B clouds. The Orion A and B clouds are well known active star-forming regions, while the λ Orionis cloud has

ABSTRACT The ATOMS, standing for ALMA Three-millimeter Observations of Massive Star-forming regions, survey has observed 146 active star-forming regions with ALMA band 3, aiming to systematically investigate the spatial distribution of various dense gas tracers in a large sample of Galactic massive clumps, to study the roles of stellar feedback in star formation, and to characterize filamentary structures inside massive clumps. In this work, the observations, data analysis, and example science of the ATOMS survey are presented, using a case study for the G9.62+0.19 complex. Toward this source, some transitions, commonly assumed to trace dense gas, including CS J = 2−1, HCO+J = 1−0, and HCN J = 1−0, are found to show extended gas emission in low-density regions within the clump; less than 25 per cent of their emission is from dense cores. SO, CH3OH, H13CN, and HC3N show similar morphologies in their spatial distributions and reveal well the dense cores. Widespread narrow SiO emission is present (over ∼1 pc), which may be caused by slow shocks from large–scale colliding flows or H ii regions. Stellar feedback from an expanding H ii region has greatly reshaped the natal clump, significantly changed the spatial distribution of gas, and may also account for the sequential high-mass star formation in the G9.62+0.19 complex. The ATOMS survey data can be jointly analysed with other survey data, e.g. MALT90, Orion B, EMPIRE, ALMA_IMF, and ALMAGAL, to deepen our understandings of ‘dense gas’ star formation scaling relations and massive protocluster formation.

Magnetic field is one of the key agents that play a crucial role in shaping molecular clouds and regulating star formation, yet the complete information on the magnetic field is not well constrained due to the limitations in observations. We study the magnetic field in the massive infrared dark cloud G035.39-00.33 from dust continuum polarization observations at 850 µm with SCUBA-2/POL-2 at JCMT for the first time. The magnetic field tends to be perpendicular to the densest part of the main filament (F M ), whereas it has a less defined relative orientation in the rest of the structure, where it tends to be parallel to some diffuse regions. A mean plane-of-the-sky magnetic field strength of ∼50 µG for F M is obtained using Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi method. Based on 13 CO (1-0) line observations, we suggest a formation scenario of F M due to large-scale (∼10 pc) cloud-cloud collision. Using additional NH 3 line data, we estimate that F M will be gravitationally unstable if it is only supported by thermal pressure and turbulence. The northern part of F M , however, can be stabilized by a modest additional support from the local magnetic field. The middle and southern parts of F M are likely unstable even if the magnetic field support is taken into account. We claim that the clumps in F M may be supported by turbulence and magnetic fields against gravitational collapse. Finally, we identified for the first time a massive (∼200 M ), collapsing starless clump candidate, "c8", in G035.39-00.33. The magnetic field surrounding "c8" is likely pinched, hinting at an accretion flow along the filament.

The low dust temperatures (<14 K) of Planck Galactic cold clumps (PGCCs) make them ideal targets to probe the initial conditions and very early phase of star formation. "TOP-SCOPE" is a joint survey program targeting ∼2000 PGCCs in J=1-0 transitions of CO isotopologues and ∼1000 PGCCs in 850 μm continuum emission. The objective of the "TOP-SCOPE" survey and the joint surveys (SMT 10 m, KVN 21 m, and NRO 45 m) is to statistically study the initial conditions occurring during star formation and the evolution of molecular clouds, across a wide range of environments. The observations, data analysis, and example science cases for these surveys are introduced with an exemplar source, PGCC G26.53+0.17 (G26), which is a filamentary infrared dark cloud (IRDC). The total mass, length, and mean line mass (M/L) of the G26 filament are ∼6200 M ☉ , ∼12 pc, and ∼500 M ☉ pc −1 , respectively. Ten massive clumps, including eight starless ones, are found along the filament. The most massive clump as a whole may still be in global collapse, while its denser part seems to be undergoing expansion owing to outflow feedback. The fragmentation in the G26 filament from cloud scale to clump scale is in agreement with gravitational fragmentation of an isothermal, nonmagnetized, and turbulent supported cylinder. A bimodal behavior in dust emissivity spectral index (β) distribution is found in G26, suggesting grain growth along the filament. The G26 filament may be formed owing to large-scale compression flows evidenced by the temperature and velocity gradients across its natal cloud.

We have identified 453 compact dense cores in 3 mm continuum emission maps in the ALMA Three-millimetre Observations of Massive Star-forming regions survey, and compiled three catalogues of high-mass star-forming cores. One catalogue, referred to as hyper/ultra compact (H/UC)-H ii catalogue, includes 89 cores that enshroud H/UC H ii regions as characterized by associated compact H40α emission. A second catalogue, referred to as pure s-cHMC, includes 32 candidate hot molecular cores (HMCs) showing rich spectra (N ≥ 20 lines) of complex organic molecules (COMs) and not associated with H/UC-H ii regions. The third catalogue, referred to as pure w-cHMC, includes 58 candidate HMCs with relatively low levels of COM richness and not associated with H/UC-H ii regions. These three catalogues of dense cores provide an important foundation for future studies of the early stages of high-mass star formation across the Milky Way. We also find that nearly half of H/UC-H ii cores are candidate HMCs. From the number counts of COM-containing and H/UC-H ii cores, we suggest that the duration of high-mass protostellar cores showing chemically rich features is at least comparable to the lifetime of H/UC-H ii regions. For cores in the H/UC-H ii catalogue, the width of the H40α line increases as the core size decreases, suggesting that the non-thermal dynamical and/or pressure line-broadening mechanisms dominate on the smaller scales of the H/UC-H ii cores.

Stellar kinematics is a powerful tool for understanding the formation process of stellar associations. Here, we present a kinematic study of the young stellar population in the Rosette nebula using recent Gaia data and high-resolution spectra. We first isolate member candidates using the published mid-infrared photometric data and the list of X-ray sources. A total of 403 stars with similar parallaxes and proper motions are finally selected as members. The spatial distribution of the members shows that this star-forming region is highly substructured. The young open cluster NGC 2244 in the center of the nebula has a pattern of radial expansion and rotation. We discuss its implication on the cluster formation, e.g., monolithic cold collapse or hierarchical assembly. On the other hand, we also investigate three groups located around the border of the H ii bubble. The western group seems to be spatially correlated with the adjacent gas structure, but their kinematics is not associated with that of the gas. The southern group does not show any systematic motion relative to NGC 2244. These two groups might be spontaneously formed in filaments of a turbulent cloud. The eastern group is spatially and kinematically associated with the gas pillar receding away from NGC 2244. This group might be formed by feedback from massive stars in NGC 2244. Our results suggest that the stellar population in the Rosette Nebula may form through three different processes: the expansion of stellar clusters, hierarchical star formation in turbulent clouds, and feedback-driven star formation.

Context. Analysis of all-sky Planck submillimetre observations and the IRAS 100 µm data has led to the detection of a population of Galactic cold clumps. The clumps can be used to study star formation and dust properties in a wide range of Galactic environments. Aims. Our aim is to measure dust spectral energy distribution (SED) variations as a function of the spatial scale and the wavelength. Methods. We examine the SEDs at large scales using IRAS, Planck, and Herschel data. At smaller scales, we compare with JCMT/SCUBA-2 850 µm maps with Herschel data that are filtered using the SCUBA-2 pipeline. Clumps are extracted using the Fellwalker method and their spectra are modelled as modified blackbody functions. Results. According to IRAS and Planck data, most fields have dust colour temperatures T C ∼ 14 − 18 K and opacity spectral index values of β = 1.5 − 1.9. The clumps/cores identified in SCUBA-2 maps have T ∼ 13 K and similar β values. There are some indications of the dust emission spectrum becoming flatter at wavelengths longer than 500 µm. In fits involving Planck data, the significance is limited by the uncertainty of the corrections for CO line contamination. The fits to the SPIRE data give a median β value slightly above 1.8. In the joint SPIRE and SCUBA-2 850 µm fits the value decreases to β ∼1.6. Most of the observed T -β anticorrelation can be explained by noise. Conclusions. The typical submillimetre opacity spectral index β of cold clumps is found to be ∼1.7. This is above the values of diffuse clouds but lower than in some previous studies of dense clumps. There is only tentative evidence of T -β anticorrelation and β decreasing at millimetre wavelengths.

Massive stars have a strong impact on their local environments. However, how stellar feedback regulates star formation is still under debate. In this context, we studied the chemical properties of 80 dense cores in the Orion molecular cloud complex composed of the Orion A (39 cores), B (26 cores), and λ Orionis (15 cores) clouds using multiple molecular line data taken with the Korean Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network 21 m telescopes. The λ Orionis cloud has an H ii bubble surrounding the O-type star λ Ori, and hence it is exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) radiation field of the massive star. The abundances of C2H and HCN, which are sensitive to UV radiation, appear to be higher in the cores in the λ Orionis cloud than in those in the Orion A and B clouds, while the HDCO to H2CO abundance ratios show the opposite trend, indicating warmer conditions in the λ Orionis cloud. The detection rates of dense gas tracers such as the N2H+, HCO+, and H13CO+ lines are also lower in the λ Orionis cloud. These chemical properties imply that the cores in the λ Orionis cloud are heated by UV photons from λ Ori. Furthermore, the cores in the λ Orionis cloud do not show any statistically significant excess in the infall signature of HCO+ (1–0), unlike those in the Orion A and B clouds. Our results support the idea that feedback from massive stars impacts star formation in a negative way by heating and evaporating dense materials, as in the λ Orionis cloud.