Related papers: A Millimeter Continuum Survey for Massive Protoclu…
We use deep $8\:\mu m$ Spitzer-IRAC imaging of a massive Infrared Dark Cloud (IRDC) G028.37+00.07 to construct a Mid-Infrared (MIR) extinction map that probes mass surface densities up to $\Sigma\:\sim 1\:\rm{g~cm^{-2}}$…
Using the 13.7 m telescope of Purple Mountain Observatory (PMO), a survey of J=1-0 lines of CO and its isotopes was carried out towards 98 methanol maser sources in January 2008. Eighty-five sources have infrared counterparts within one…
We present new NH3 (1,1), (2,2), and (4,4) observations from the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) compiled with work in the literature to explore the range of conditions observed in young, massive star-forming regions. To sample the…
We report the identification of a sample of potential High-Mass Starless Cores (HMSCs). The cores were discovered by comparing images of the fields containing candidate High-Mass Protostellar Objects (HMPOs) at 1.2mm and mid-infrared…
Starless cores represent the initial stage of evolution toward (proto)star formation, and a subset of them, known as prestellar cores, with high density (~ 10^6 cm^-3 or higher) and being centrally concentrated are expected to be embryos of…
Despite its major role in the evolution of the interstellar medium, the formation of high-mass stars (M > 10 Msol) is still poorly understood. Two types of massive star cluster precursors, the so-called Massive Dense Cores (MDCs), have been…
We observe 1.3~mm spectral lines at 2000~AU resolution toward four massive molecular clouds in the Central Molecular Zone of the Galaxy to investigate their star formation activities. We focus on several potential shock tracers that are…
Massive stars (M $\gsim 10$ \msun) form from collapse of parsec-scale molecular clumps. How molecular clumps fragment to give rise to massive stars in a cluster with a distribution of masses is unclear. We search for cold cores that may…
We used the NRAO Very Large Array to search for 3.6 cm continuum emission from embedded protostars in a sample of 8 nearby ``starless'' cores that show spectroscopic evidence for infalling motions in molecular emission lines. We detect a…
We present a catalogue of starless and protostellar clumps associated with infrared dark clouds (IRDCs) in a 40 degrees wide region of the inner Galactic Plane (b<1). We have extracted the far-infrared (FIR) counterparts of 3493 IRDCs with…
We analyse C$^{18}$O ($J=3-$2) data from a sample of 99 infrared-bright massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) and compact HII regions that were identified as potential molecular-outflow sources in the Red MSX source (RMS) survey. We extract…
To characterize the initial conditions for intermediate- to high-mass star formation, we observed two Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) that remain absorption features up to 70mum wavelength, with the PdBI in the 3.23mm dust continuum as well as…
We present a multiwavelength study of the infrared dark cloud MSXDC G034.43+00.24. Dust emission, traced by millimeter/submillimeter images obtained with the IRAM, JCMT, and CSO telescopes, reveals three compact cores within this infrared…
The majority of stars form in clusters. Therefore a comprehensive view of star formation requires understanding the initial conditions for cluster formation. The goal of our study is to shed light on the physical properties of infrared dark…
We present high-angular resolution sub-millimeter continuum images and molecular line spectra obtained with the SMA toward two massive cores that lie within Infrared Dark Clouds; one actively star-forming (G034.43+00.24 MM1) and the other…
Context: Despite their profound effect on the universe, the formation of massive stars and stellar clusters remains elusive. In the past decade, compelling evidence has emerged that suggests Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) may be precursors to…
We present a detailed 1.2 mm continuum and CS spectral line study of a large sample of 69 massive star forming regions in very early stages of evolution, most of them prior to building up an ultracompact HII region. The continuum data show…
We present results of Chandra ACIS-I and Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) 6 cm continuum observations of the IRAS 20126+4104 massive star forming region. We detect 150 X-ray sources within the 17 arcmin x 17 arcmin ACIS-I field, and a…
Our knowledge of the initial conditions and early stages of high mass star formation is very limited. We will review recent surveys of regions in the early stages of massive star formation using molecular tracers of high density and dust…
Infrared Dark Clouds (IRDCs) are dense molecular clouds seen as extinction features against the bright mid-infrared Galactic background. Millimeter continuum maps toward 38 IRDCs reveal extended cold dust emission to be associated with each…