We have used the Very Long Baseline Array to measure the trigonometric parallax of several member stars of the Orion Nebula Cluster showing non-thermal radio emission. We have determined the distance to the cluster to be 414 ± 7 pc. Our distance determination allows for an improved calibration of luminosities and ages of young stars. We have also measured the proper motions of four cluster stars which, when accurate radial velocities are measured, will put strong constraints on the origin of the cluster.

We have measured the positions of H 2 O masers in Sgr B2, a massive star forming region in the Galactic center, relative to an extragalactic radio source with the Very Long Baseline Array. The positions measured at 12 epochs over a time span of one year yield the trigonometric parallax of Sgr B2 and hence a distance to the Galactic center of R 0 = 7.9 +0.8 −0.7 kpc. The proper motion of Sgr B2 relative to Sgr A* suggests that Sgr B2 is ≈ 0.13 kpc nearer than the Galactic center, assuming a low-eccentricity Galactic orbit.

Context. Massive-star formation and the processes involved are still poorly understood. The ATLASGAL survey provides an ideal basis for detailed studies of large numbers of massive-star forming clumps covering the whole range of evolutionary stages. The ATLASGAL Top100 is a sample of clumps selected by their infrared and radio properties to be representative for the whole range of evolutionary stages. Aims. The ATLASGAL Top100 sources are the focus of a number of detailed follow-up studies that will be presented in a series of papers. In the present work we use the dust continuum emission to constrain the physical properties of this sample and identify trends as a function of source evolution. Methods. We determine flux densities from mid-infrared to submillimeter wavelength (8-870 µm) images and use these values to fit their spectral energy distributions and determine their dust temperature and flux. Combining these with recent distances from the literature including maser parallax measurements we determine clump masses, luminosities and column densities. Results. We define four distinct source classes from the available continuum data and arrange these into an evolutionary sequence. This begins with sources found to be dark at 70 µm, followed by 24 µm weak sources with an embedded 70 µm source, continues through mid-infrared bright sources and ends with infrared bright sources associated with radio emission (i.e., H ii regions). We find trends for increasing temperature, luminosity, and column density with the proposed evolution sequence, confirming that this sample is representative of different evolutionary stages of massive star formation. Our sources span temperatures from approximately 11 to 41 K, with bolometric luminosities in the range 57 L −3.8 × 10 6 L . The highest masses reach 4.3 × 10 4 M and peak column densities up to 1.1 × 10 24 cm −1 , and therefore have the potential to form the most massive O-type stars. We show that at least 93 sources (85%) of this sample have the ability to form massive stars and that most are gravitationally unstable and hence likely to be collapsing. Conclusions. The highest column density ATLASGAL sources cover the whole range of evolutionary stages from the youngest to the most evolved high-mass-star forming clumps. Study of these clumps provides a unique starting point for more in-depth research on massive-star formation in four distinct evolutionary stages whose well defined physical parameters afford more detailed studies. As most of the sample is closer than 5 kpc, these sources are also ideal for follow-up observations with high spatial resolution.

Abstract. We present a high-angular-resolution molecular line and millimeter continuum study of the massive star formation site IRAS 05358+3543. Observations with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in CO 1-0, SiO 2-1 and H 13 CO + 1-0 reveal at least three outflows which cannot be separated in single-dish data. Observations at millimeter and sub-millimeter wavelengths from the IRAM 30 m telescope and the CSO provide additional information on the region. The most remarkable feature is a highly collimated (collimation factor ∼10) and massive (>10 M ) bipolar outflow of ∼1 pc length, which is part of a quadrupolar outflow system. The three observed molecular outflows forming the IRAS 05358+3543 outflow system resemble, in structure and collimation, those typical of low-mass star-forming regions. They might therefore, just like low-mass outflows, be explained by shock entrainment models of jets. We estimate a mass accretion rate of ∼10 −4 M /yr, sufficient to overcome the radiative pressure of the central object and to build up a massive star, lending further support to the hypothesis that massive star formation occurs similarly to low-mass star formation, only with higher accretion rates and energetics. In the millimeter continuum, we find three sources near the center of the quadrupolar outflow, each with a mass of 75-100 M . These cores are associated with a complex region of infrared reflection nebulosities and their embedded illuminating sources. The molecular line data show that SiO is found mostly in the outflows, whereas H 13 CO + traces core-like structures, though likely with varying relative abundances. Thermal CH3OH comprises both features and can be disentangled into a core-tracing component at the line center, and wing emission following the outflows. A CO line-ratio study (using data of the J = 1-0, 2-1 and 6-5 transitions) reveals local temperature gradients.

We report trigonometric parallaxes for the sources NGC 7538 and Cep A, corresponding to distances of 2.65 +0.12 −0.11 kpc and 0.70 +0.04 −0.04 kpc, respectively. The distance to NGC 7538 is considerably smaller than its kinematic distance and places it in the Perseus spiral arm. The distance to Cep A is also smaller than its kinematic distance and places it in the "Local" arm or spur. Combining the distance and proper motions with observed radial velocities gives the location and full space motion of the star forming regions. We find significant deviations from circular Galactic orbits for these sources: both sources show large peculiar motions (> 10 km s −1 ) counter to Galactic rotation and NGC 7538 has a comparable peculiar motion toward the Galactic center.

Context. The processes leading to the birth of high-mass stars are poorly understood. The key first step to reveal their formation processes is characterising the clumps and cores from which they form. Aims. We define a representative sample of massive clumps in different evolutionary stages selected from the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL), from which we aim to establish a census of molecular tracers of their evolution. As a first step, we study the shock tracer, SiO, mainly associated with shocks from jets probing accretion processes. In low-mass young stellar objects (YSOs), outflow and jet activity decreases with time during the star formation processes. Recently, a similar scenario was suggested for massive clumps based on SiO observations. Here we analyse observations of the SiO (2−1) and (5−4) lines in a statistically significant sample to constrain the change of SiO abundance and the excitation conditions as a function of evolutionary stage of massive star-forming clumps. Methods. We performed an unbiased spectral line survey covering the 3-mm atmospheric window between 84−117 GHz with the IRAM 30 m telescope of a sample of 430 sources of the ATLASGAL survey, covering various evolutionary stages of massive clumps. A smaller sample of 128 clumps has been observed in the SiO (5−4) transition with the APEX telescope to complement the (2−1) line and probe the excitation conditions of the emitting gas. We derived detection rates to assess the star formation activity of the sample, and we estimated the column density and abundance using both an LTE approximation and non-LTE calculations for a smaller subsample, where both transitions have been observed. Results. We characterise the physical properties of the selected sources, which greatly supersedes the largest samples studied so far, and show that they are representative of different evolutionary stages. We report a high detection rate of >75% of the SiO (2−1) line and a >90% detection rate from the dedicated follow-ups in the (5−4) transition. Up to 25% of the infrared-quiet clumps exhibit high-velocity line wings, suggesting that molecular tracers are more efficient tools to determine the level of star formation activity than infrared colour criteria. We also find infrared-quiet clumps that exhibit only a low-velocity component (FWHM ∼ 5−6 km s −1 ) SiO emission in the (2−1) line. In the current picture, where this is attributed to low-velocity shocks from cloud-cloud collisions, this can be used to pinpoint the youngest, thus, likely prestellar massive structures. Using the optically thin isotopologue ( 29 SiO), we estimate that the (2−1) line is optically thin towards most of the sample. Furthermore, based on the line ratio of the (5−4) to the (2−1) line, our study reveals a trend of changing excitation conditions that lead to brighter emission in the (5−4) line towards more evolved sources. Our models show that a proper treatment of non-LTE effects and beam dilution is necessary to constrain trends in the SiO column den...

Aims. Ionized carbon is the main gas-phase reservoir of carbon in the neutral diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) and its 158 μm fine structure transition [C ii] is the most important cooling line of the diffuse ISM. We combine [C ii] absorption and emission spectroscopy to gain an improved understanding of physical conditions in the different phases of the ISM.Methods. We present high-resolution [C ii] spectra obtained with the Herschel/HIFI instrument towards bright dust continuum regions in the Galactic plane, probing simultaneously the diffuse gas along the line of sight and the background high-mass star forming regions. These data are complemented by single pointings in the 492 and 809 GHz fine structure lines of atomic carbon and by medium spectral resolution spectral maps of the fine structure lines of atomic oxygen at 63 and 145 μm with Herschel/PACS. Results. We show that the presence of foreground absorption may completely cancel the emission from the background source in medium spectral resolution PACS data and that high spectral resolution spectra are needed to interpret the [C ii] and [O i] emission and the [C ii]/FIR ratio. This phenomenon may explain part of the [C ii]/FIR deficit seen in external luminous infrared galaxies where the bright emission from the nuclear regions may be partially canceled by absorption from diffuse gas in the foreground. The C + and C excitation in the diffuse gas is consistent with a median pressure of ∼5900 K cm −3 for a mean kinetic temperature of ∼100 K. A few higher pressure regions are detected along the lines of sight, as emission features in both fine structure lines of atomic carbon. The knowledge of the gas density allows us to determine the filling factor of the absorbing gas along the selected lines of sight. The derived median value of the filling factor is 2.4%, in good agreement with the properties of the Galactic cold neutral medium. The mean excitation temperature is used to derive the average cooling due to C + in the Galactic plane : 9.5 × 10 −26 erg −1 H −1 . Along the observed lines of sight, the gas phase carbon abundance does not exhibit a strong gradient as a function of Galacto-centric radius and has a weighted average of C/H = 1.5 ± 0.4 × 10 −4 .

We present the results of a high sensitivity survey for 6.7 GHz methanol masers towards 22 GHz water masers using the 100 m Efflesberg telescope. A total of 89 sources were observed and 10 new methanol masers were detected. The new detections are relatively faint with peak flux densities of between 0.5 and 4.0 Jy. A nil detection rate from low-mass star forming regions enhances the conclusion that the masers are only associated with massive star formation. Even the faintest methanol maser in our survey, with a luminosity of 1.1 × 10 −9 L , is associated with massive stars, as inferred from its infrared luminosity.