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G11.92-0.61 MM1: A Keplerian disc around a massive young proto-O star

Published version
Peer-reviewed

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Authors

Ilee, JD 
Cyganowski, CJ 
Nazari, P 
Hunter, TR 
Brogan, CL 

Abstract

The formation process of massive stars is not well understood, and advancement in our understanding benefits from high resolution observations and modelling of the gas and dust surrounding individual high-mass (proto)stars. Here we report sub-arcsecond (<1550 au) resolution observations of the young massive star G11.92-0.61 MM1 with the SMA and VLA. Our 1.3 mm SMA observations reveal consistent velocity gradients in compact molecular line emission from species such as CH3CN, CH3OH, OCS, HNCO, H2CO, DCN and CH3CH2CN, oriented perpendicular to the previously reported bipolar molecular outflow from MM1. Modelling of the compact gas kinematics suggests a structure undergoing rotation around the peak of the dust continuum emission. The rotational profile can be well fit by a model of a Keplerian disc, including infall, surrounding an enclosed mass of 30-60M, of which 2-3M is attributed to the disc. From modelling the CH3CN emission, we determine that two temperature components, of 150 K and 230 K, are required to adequately reproduce the spectra. Our 0.9 and 3.0cm VLA continuum data exhibit an excess above the level expected from dust emission; the full centimetre-submillimetre wavelength spectral energy distribution of MM1 is well reproduced by a model including dust emission, an unresolved hypercompact H{\i}{\i} region, and a compact ionised jet. In combination, our results suggest that MM1 is an example of a massive proto-O star forming via disc accretion, in a similar way to that of lower mass stars.

Description

Keywords

stars: individual: G11.92-0.61, stars: massive, stars: pre-main-sequence, stars: protostars, radio continuum: stars, submillimetre: stars

Journal Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0035-8711
1365-2966

Volume Title

462

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)
Sponsorship
European Research Council (ERC-2013-ADG DISCSIM project (Grant ID: 341137), ERC-2011-ADG ECOGAL project (Grant ID: 291227)), Science and Technology Facilities Council (Grant ID: ST/M001296/1), Royal Astronomical Society (Undergraduate Research Bursary)