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Massive young stellar objects in high-mass star-forming regions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 November 2005

Arjan Bik
Affiliation:
European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Strasse 2, Garching-bei-München, D-85748, Germany email: abik@eso.org
Lex Kaper
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands email: lexk@science.uva.nl, rensw@science.uva.nl
Wing-Fai Thi
Affiliation:
Research and Scientific Support Department, ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ, Noordwijk, the Netherlands email:wthi@rssd.esa.int
Rens Waters
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 403, 1098 SJ Amsterdam, The Netherlands email: lexk@science.uva.nl, rensw@science.uva.nl
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Abstract

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High-quality K-band spectra of point sources, deeply embedded in massive star-forming regions, have revealed a population of 20 young massive stars showing no photospheric absorption lines, but only emission lines. The K-band spectra exhibit one or more features commonly associated with massive Young Stellar Objects surrounded by circumstellar material: a very red color $(J-K) = 2$, CO bandhead emission, hydrogen emission lines (sometimes doubly peaked), and FeII and/or MgII emission lines. The CO emission comes from a relatively dense (${\sim}10^{10} \mathrm{cm}^{-3}$) and hot ($T\sim 2000$–5000 K) region, sufficiently shielded from the intense UV radiation field of the young massive star. Modeling of the CO-first overtone emission shows that the CO gas is located within 5 AU of the star. The hydrogen emission is produced in an ionized medium exposed to UV radiation. The best geometrical configuration is a dense and neutral circumstellar disk causing the CO bandhead emission, and an ionized upper layer where the hydrogen lines are produced. We argue that the circumstellar disk is likely a remnant of the accretion via a circumstellar disk.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
© 2005 International Astronomical Union