We summarize the first results from the Gould Belt Survey, obtained toward the Aquila rift and Polaris Flare regions during the science demonstration phase of Herschel. Our 70-500 μm images taken in parallel mode with the SPIRE and PACS cameras reveal a wealth of filamentary structure, as well as numerous dense cores embedded in the filaments. Between ∼350 and 500 prestellar cores and ∼45-60 Class 0 protostars can be identified in the Aquila field, while ∼300 unbound starless cores and no protostars are observed in the Polaris field. The prestellar core mass function (CMF) derived for the Aquila region bears a strong resemblance to the stellar initial mass function (IMF), already confirming the close connection between the CMF and the IMF with much better statistics than earlier studies. Comparing and contrasting our Herschel results in Aquila and Polaris, we propose an observationally-driven scenario for core formation according to which complex networks of long, thin filaments form first within molecular clouds, and then the densest filaments fragment into a number of prestellar cores via gravitational instability.

Context. Herschel observations of nearby molecular clouds suggest that interstellar filaments and prestellar cores represent two fundamental steps in the star formation process. The observations support a picture of low-mass star formation according to which filaments of ∼0.1 pc width form first in the cold interstellar medium, probably as a result of large-scale compression of interstellar matter by supersonic turbulent flows, and then prestellar cores arise from gravitational fragmentation of the densest filaments. Whether this scenario also applies to regions of high-mass star formation is an open question, in part because the resolution of Herschel is insufficient to resolve the inner width of filaments in the nearest regions of massive star formation. Aims. In an effort to characterize the inner width of filaments in high-mass star-forming regions, we imaged the central part of the NGC 6334 complex at a resolution higher by a factor of >3 than Herschel at 350 µm. Methods. We used the large-format bolometer camera ArTéMiS on the APEX telescope and combined the high-resolution ArTéMiS data at 350 µm with Herschel/HOBYS data at 70-500 µm to ensure good sensitivity to a broad range of spatial scales. This allowed us to study the structure of the main narrow filament of the complex with a resolution of 8 or <0.07 pc at d ∼ 1.7 kpc. Results. Our study confirms that this filament is a very dense, massive linear structure with a line mass ranging from ∼500 M /pc to ∼2000 M /pc over nearly 10 pc. It also demonstrates for the first time that its inner width remains as narrow as W ∼ 0.15 ± 0.05 pc all along the filament length, within a factor of <2 of the characteristic 0.1 pc value found with Herschel for lower-mass filaments in the Gould Belt. Conclusions. While it is not completely clear whether the NGC 6334 filament will form massive stars in the future, it is two to three orders of magnitude denser than the majority of filaments observed in Gould Belt clouds, and has a very similar inner width. This points to a common physical mechanism for setting the filament width and suggests that some important structural properties of nearby clouds also hold in high-mass star-forming regions.Key words. stars: formation -circumstellar matter -ISM: clouds -ISM: structure -ISM: individual objects: NGC 6334 -submillimeter: ISM This publication is based on data acquired with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) in ESO program 091.C-0870. APEX is a collaboration between the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, the European Southern Observatory, and the Onsala Space Observatory.The final ArTéMiS+SPIRE 350 µm map (Fig. 1b) is available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via

Aims. In an effort to make progress in the current debate on the earliest phases of massive star formation, we took a census of Class 0-like protostellar dense cores in the NGC 3576 region, one of the nearest and most luminous embedded sites of high-mass star formation in the Galaxy. Methods. We used the P-ArTéMiS bolometer camera on the APEX telescope to produce the first 450 μm dust continuum map of the filamentary dense clump associated with NGC 3576. Results. Combining our 450 μm observations with existing data at other wavelengths, we identified seven massive protostellar sources along the NGC 3576 filament and placed them in the M env -L bol evolutionary diagram for protostars. Conclusions. Comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks suggests that these seven protostellar sources will evolve into massive stars with masses M ∼ 15-50 M . Four sources are classified as candidate high-mass Class 0 objects, two sources as massive Class I objects, and one source appears to be at an intermediate stage.

We present APEX/P-ArTéMiS 450 μm continuum observations of RCW 36 and the adjacent ridge, a high-mass high-column density filamentary structure at the centre of the Vela C molecular cloud. These observations, at higher resolution than Herschel/SPIRE camera, reveal clear fragmentation of the central star-forming ridge. Combined with PACS far-infrared and SPIRE sub-millimetre observations from the Herschel HOBYS project we build a high resolution column density map of the region mapped with P-ArTéMiS. We extract the radial density profile of the Vela C ridge which with a ∼0.1 pc central width is consistent with that measured for lowmass star-forming filaments in the Herschel Gould Belt survey. Direct comparison with Serpens South, of the Gould Belt Aquila complex, reveals many similarities between the two regions. Despite likely different formation mechanisms and histories, the Vela C ridge and Serpens South filament share common characteristics, including their filament central widths.

We present a search for Herschel-PACS counterparts of dust-obscured, high-redshift objects previously selected at submillimeter and millimeter wavelengths in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey North field. We detect 22 of 56 submillimeter galaxies (39%) with a SNR of ≥ 3 at 100 µm down to 3.0 mJy, and/or at 160 µm down to 5.7 mJy. The fraction of SMGs seen at 160 µm is higher than that at 100 µm. About 50% of radio-identified SMGs are associated with PACS sources. We find a trend between the SCUBA/PACS flux ratio and redshift, suggesting that these flux ratios could be used as a coarse redshift indicator. PACS undetected submm/mm selected sources tend to lie at higher redshifts than the PACS detected ones. A total of 12 sources (21% of our SMG sample) remain unidentified and the fact that they are blank fields at Herschel-PACS and VLA 20 cm wavelength may imply higher redshifts for them than for the average SMG population (e.g., z > 3 − 4). The Herschel-PACS imaging of these dust-obscured starbursts at high-redshifts suggests that their farinfrared spectral energy distributions have significantly different shapes than template libraries of local infrared galaxies.

Aims. Expanding HII regions and propagating shocks are common in the environment of young high-mass star-forming complexes. They can compress a pre-existing molecular cloud and trigger the formation of dense cores. We investigate whether these phenomena can explain the formation of high-mass protostars within an infrared dark cloud located at the position of G327.3-0.6 in the Galactic plane, in between two large infrared bubbles and two HII regions. Methods. The region of G327.3-0.6 was imaged at 450 μm with the CEA P-ArTéMiS bolometer array on the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment telescope in Chile. APEX/LABOCA and APEX-2A, and Spitzer/IRAC and MIPS archives data were used in this study. Results. Ten massive cores were detected in the P-ArTéMiS image, embedded within the infrared dark cloud seen in absorption at both 8 and 24 μm. Their luminosities and masses indicate that they form high-mass stars. The kinematical study of the region suggests that the infrared bubbles expand toward the infrared dark cloud. Conclusions. Under the influence of expanding bubbles, star formation occurs in the infrared dark areas at the border of HII regions and infrared bubbles.

Context. The Orion molecular cloud is the closest region of high-mass star formation. It is an ideal target for investigating the detailed structure of massive star-forming filaments at high resolution and the relevance of the filament paradigm for the earliest stages of intermediate-to high-mass star formation. Aims. Within the Orion A molecular cloud, the integral-shaped filament (ISF) is a prominent, degree-long structure of dense gas and dust with clear signs of recent and ongoing high-mass star formation. Our aim is to characterise the structure of this massive filament at moderately high angular resolution (8 or ∼ 0.016 pc) in order to measure the intrinsic width of the main filament, down to scales well below 0.1 pc, which has been identified as the characteristic width of filaments. Methods. We used the ArTéMiS bolometer camera at APEX to map a ∼0.6×0.2 deg 2 region covering OMC-1, OMC-2, and OMC-3 at 350 and 450 µm. We combined these data with Herschel-SPIRE maps to recover extended emission. The combined Herschel-ArTéMiS maps provide details on the distribution of dense cold material, with a high spatial dynamic range, from our 8 resolution up to the transverse angular size of the map, ∼ 10-15 . By combining Herschel and ArTéMiS data at 160, 250, 350, and 450 µm, we constructed high-resolution temperature and H 2 column density maps. We extracted radial intensity profiles from the column density map in several representative portions of the ISF, which we fitted with Gaussian and Plummer models to derive their intrinsic widths. We also compared the distribution of material traced by ArTéMiS with that seen in the higher-density tracer N 2 H + (1-0) that was recently observed with the ALMA interferometer. Results. All the radial profiles that we extracted show a clear deviation from a Gaussian, with evidence for an inner plateau that had not previously been seen clearly using Herschel-only data. We measure intrinsic half-power widths in the range 0.06 to 0.11 pc. This is significantly larger than the Gaussian widths measured for fibres seen in N 2 H + , which probably only traces the dense innermost regions of the large-scale filament. These half-power widths are within a factor of two of the value of ∼ 0.1 pc found for a large sample of nearby filaments in various low-mass star-forming regions, which tends to indicate that the physical conditions governing the fragmentation of pre-stellar cores within transcritical or supercritical filaments are the same over a large range of masses per unit length.

The automation of liquid-handling routines offers great potential for fast, reproducible, and labor-reduced biomaterial fabrication but also requires the development of special protocols. Competitive systems demand for a high degree in miniaturization and parallelization while maintaining flexibility regarding the experimental design. Today, there are only a few possibilities for automated fabrication of biomaterials inside multiwell plates. We have previously demonstrated that streptavidin-based biomimetic platforms can be employed to study cellular behaviors on biomimetic surfaces. So far, these self-assembled materials were made by stepwise assembly of the components using manual pipetting. In this work, we introduce for the first time a fully automated and adaptable workflow to functionalize glass-bottom multiwell plates with customized biomimetic platforms deposited in single wells using a liquid-handling robot. We then characterize the cell response using automated image acquisition and subsequent analysis. Furthermore, the molecular surface density of the biomimetic platforms was characterized in situ using fluorescence-based image correlation spectroscopy. These measurements were in agreement with standard ex situ spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. Due to automation, we could do a proof of concept to study the effect of heparan sulfate on the bioactivity of bone morphogenetic proteins on myoblast cells, using four different bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) (2, 4, 6, and 7) in parallel, at five increasing concentrations. Using such an automated self-assembly of biomimetic materials, it may be envisioned to further investigate the role of a large variety of extracellular matrix (ECM) components and growth factors on cell signaling.