Young massive stars in the center of crowded star clusters are expected to undergo close dynamical encounters that could lead to energetic, explosive events. However, there has so far never been clear observational evidence of such a remarkable phenomenon. We here report new interferometric observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) that indicate the well known enigmatic wide-angle outflow located in the Orion BN/KL star-forming region to have been produced by such a violent explosion during the disruption of a massive young stellar system, and that this was caused by a close dynamical interaction about 500 years ago. This outflow thus belongs to a totally different family of molecular flows which is not related to the classical bipolar flows that are generated by stars during their formation process. Our molecular data allow us to create a 3D view of the debris flow and to link this directly to the well known Orion H$_2$ "fingers" farther out
High spatial resolution low-J 12CO observations have shown that the wide-angle outflow seen in the Orion BN/KL region correlates with the famous H2 fingers. Recently, high-resolution large-scale mappings of mid- and higher-J CO emissions have been reported toward the Orion molecular cloud 1 core region using the APEX telescope. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate this outflow in the higher-J 12CO emission, which is likely excited by shocks. The observations were carried out using the dual-color heterodyne array CHAMP+ on the APEX telescope. The images of the Orion BN/KL region were obt…
We present near-IR (1.1-2.4 micron) position-position-velocity cubes of the 500-year-old Orion BN/KL explosive outflow with spatial resolution 1" and spectral resolution 86 km/s. We construct integrated intensity maps free of continuum sources of 15 H2 and [Fe II] lines while preserving kinematic information of individual outflow features. Included in the detected H2 lines are the 1-0 S(1) and 1-0 Q(3) transitions, allowing extinction measurements across the outflow. Additionally, we present dereddened flux ratios for over two dozen outflow features to allow for the characterization of the tru…
We present reactive gasdynamic, axisymmetric simulations of dense, high velocity clumps for modelling the CO streamers observed in Orion BN/KL. We have considered 15 chemical species, a cooling function for atomic and molecular gas, and heating through cosmic rays. Our numerical simulations explore different ejection velocities, interstellar medium density configurations, and CO content. Using the CO density and temperature, we have calculated the CO ($J=2\to1$) emissivity, and have built CO maps and spatially resolved line profiles, allowing us to see the CO emitting regions of the streamers …
During the fragmentation and collapse of a molecular cloud, it is expected to have close encounters between (proto)stellar objects that can lead to the ejection of a fraction of them as runaway objects. However, the duration and the consequences of such encounters perhaps are small such that there is no direct evidence of their occurrence. As a first approximation, in this work, we analytically analyze the interaction of a massive object that moves at high velocity into a cluster of negligible mass particles with an initial number density distribution $\propto R^{-α}$. We have found that the r…
We measure H$_2$ temperatures and column densities across the Orion BN/KL explosive outflow from a set of thirteen near-IR H$_2$ rovibrational emission lines observed with the TripleSpec spectrograph on Apache Point Observatory's 3.5-meter telescope. We find that most of the region is well-characterized by a single temperature (~2000-2500 K), which may be influenced by the limited range of upper energy levels (6000-20,000 K) probed by our data set. The H$_2$ column density maps indicate that warm H$_2$ comprises 10$^{-5}$ - 10$^{-3}$ of the total H$_2$ column density near the center of the out…
Aims. Adaptive optics images are used to test the hypothesis that the explosive BN/KL outflow from the Orion OMC1 cloud core was powered by the dynamical decay of a non-hierarchical system of massive stars. Methods. Narrow-band H2, [Fe II], and broad-band Ks obtained with the Gemini South multi-conjugate adaptive optics (AO) system GeMS and near-infrared imager GSAOI are presented. The images reach resolutions of 0.08 to 0.10", close to the 0.07" diffraction limit of the 8-meter telescope at 2.12 microns. Comparison with previous AO-assisted observations of sub-fields and other ground-based ob…
The explosive molecular outflow detected decades ago in the Orion BN/KL region of massive star formation was considered to be a bizarre event. This belief was strengthened by the non detection of similar cases over the years with the only exception of the marginal case of DR21. Here, we confim a similar explosive outflow associated with the UCH$_{\rm II}$ region G5.89$-$0.39 that indicates that this phenomenon is not unique to Orion or DR21. Sensitive and high angular resolution ($\sim$ 0.1$''$) ALMA CO(2$-$1) and SiO(5$-$4) observations show that the molecular outflow in the massive star form…
The explosive BN/KL outflow emerging from OMC1 behind the Orion Nebula may have been powered by the dynamical decay of a non-hierarchical multiple system $\sim$500 years ago that ejected the massive stars I, BN, and source n, with velocities of about 10 to 30 km s$^{-1}$. New proper motion measurements of H$_2$ features show that within the errors of measurement, the outflow originated from the site of stellar ejection. Combined with published data, these measurements indicate an outflow age of $\sim$500 years, similar to the time since stellar ejection. The total kinetic energy of the ejected…
This work reports a high spatial resolution observations toward Orion KL region with high critical density lines of CH$_{3}$CN (12$_{4}$-11$_{4}$) and CH$_{3}$OH (8$_{-1, 8}$-7$_{0, 7}$) as well as continuum at $\sim$1.3 mm band. The observations were made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array with a spatial resolution of $\sim$1.5$^{\prime\prime}$ and sensitives about 0.07 K and $\sim$0.18 K for continuum and line, respectively. The observational results showed that the gas in the Orion KL region consists of jet-propelled cores at the ridge and dense cores at east and south o…
We present the first linear-polarization mosaicked observations performed by the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We mapped the Orion-KLeinmann-Low (Orion-KL) nebula using super-sampled mosaics at 3.1 and 1.3 mm as part of the ALMA Extension and Optimization of Capabilities (EOC) program. We derive the magnetic field morphology in the plane of the sky by assuming that dust grains are aligned with respect to the ambient magnetic field. At the center of the nebula, we find a quasi-radial magnetic field pattern that is aligned with the explosive CO outflow up to a radius of ap…
With the recent recognition of a second, distinctive class of molecular outflows, namely the explosive ones not directly connected to the accretion-ejection process in the star formation, a juxtaposition of the morphological and kinematic properties of both classes is warranted. By applying the same method used in Zapata et al. (2009), and using $^{12}$CO(J=2-1) archival data from the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we contrast two well known explosive objects, Orion KL and DR21, to HH211 and DG Tau B, two flows representative of classical low-mass protostellar outflows. At the moment there are onl…
The explosive outflows are a newly-discovered family of molecular outflows associated with high-mass star forming regions. Such energetic events are possibly powered by the release of gravitational energy related with the formation of a (proto)stellar merger or a close stellar binary. Here, we present sensitive and high angular resolution observations (0.85$''$) archival CO(J=3-2) observations carried out with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) of the high-mass star forming region G5.89$-$0.39 that reveal the possible presence of an explosive outflow. We find six well-defined and narrow straight fi…
Using multi-epoch VLA observations, covering a time baseline of 29.1 years, we have measured the proper motions of 88 young stars with compact radio emission in the core of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) and the neighboring BN/KL region. Our work increases the number of young stars with measured proper motion at radio frequencies by a factor of 2.5 and enables us to perform a better statistical analysis of the kinematics of the region than was previously possible. Most stars (79 out of 88) have proper motions consistent with a Gaussian distribution centered on $\overline{μ_α\cosδ}=1.07\pm0.09\…
Velocity-resolved [O I] 63,145 um, [C II] 158 um, and OH mapping along the Orion BN/KL explosive outflow and irradiated shocks
Instituto de Física Fundamental (CSIC)（基础物理研究所（西班牙科学理事会））；Max-Planck Institut für Radioastronomie（马克斯·普朗克射电天文研究所）；Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, LUX（巴黎天文台，巴黎文理研究大学，索邦大学，LUX）；Ecole Normale Supérieure, ENS, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, Université de Paris（法兰西高等师范学校，巴黎文理研究大学，法国国家科学研究中心，索邦大学，巴黎大学）；Physikalisches Institut der Universität zu Köln（科隆大学物理学院）
We present observational results of the thermal dust continuum emission and its linear polarization in one of the nearest massive star-forming sites Orion BN/KL in Orion Molecular Cloud-1. The observations were carried out with the Submillimeter Array. With an angular resolution of 1" (~2 mpc; 480 AU), we have detected and resolved the densest cores near the BN/KL region. At a wavelength of ~870 micron, the polarized dust emission can be used to trace the structure of the magnetic field in this star-forming core. The dust continuum appears to arise from a V-shaped region, with a cavity nearly …
The Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) is the nearest site of ongoing massive star formation, which allows us to study the kinematics and dynamics of the region in detail and constrain star formation theories. Using HST ACS/WFPC2/WFC3IR and Keck II NIRC2 data, we have measured the proper motions of 701 stars within an $\sim6'\times6'$ field of view around the center of the ONC. We have found more than 10 escaping star candidates, concentrated predominantly at the core of the cluster. The proper motions of the bound stars are consistent with a normal distribution, albeit elongated North-South along the…
The proper motions of the three stars ejected from Orion's OMC1 cloud core are combined with the requirement that their center of mass is gravitationally bound to OMC1 to show that radio source I (Src I) is likely to have a mass around 15 Solar masses consistent with recent measurements. Src I, the star with the smallest proper motion, is suspected to be either an AU-scale binary or a protostellar merger remnant produced by a dynamic interaction ~550 years ago. Near-infrared 2.2 um images spanning ~21 years confirm the ~55 km/s motion of `source x' (Src x) away from the site of stellar ejectio…
Sensitive high angular resolution ($\sim$ 2$"$) CO(2-1) line observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) of the flow emanating from the high-mass star forming region DR21 located in the Cygnus X molecular cloud are presented. These new interferometric observations indicate that this well known enigmatic outflow appears to have been produced by an explosive event that took place about 10,000 years ago, and that might be related with the disintegration of a massive stellar system, as the one that occurred in Orion BN/KL 500 years ago, but about 20 times more energetic. This result there…
The CH$^+$ ion is a key species in the initial steps of interstellar carbon chemistry. Its formation in diverse environments where it is observed is not well understood, however, because the main production pathway is so endothermic (4280 K) that it is unlikely to proceed at the typical temperatures of molecular clouds. We investigation CH$^+$ formation with the first velocity-resolved spectral mapping of the CH$^+$ $J=1-0, 2-1$ rotational transitions, three sets of CH $Λ$-doubled triplet lines, $^{12}$C$^+$ and $^{13}$C$^+$, and CH$_3$OH 835~GHz E-symmetry Q branch transitions, obtained with …
The fast outflow emerging from a region associated with massive star formation in the Orion Molecular Cloud 1 (OMC-1), located behind the Orion Nebula, appears to have been set in motion by an explosive event. Here we study the structure and dynamics of outflows in OMC-1. We combine radial velocity and proper motion data for near-IR emission of molecular hydrogen to obtain the first 3-dimensional (3D) structure of the OMC-1 outflow. Our work illustrates a new diagnostic tool for studies of star formation that will be exploited in the near future with the advent of high spatial resolution spect…
We present ~2'x2' spectral-maps of Orion BN/KL outflows taken with Herschel at ~12'' resolution. For the first time in the far-IR domain, we spatially resolve the emission associated with the bright H2 shocked regions "Peak 1" and "Peak 2" from that of the Hot Core and ambient cloud. We analyze the ~54-310um spectra taken with the PACS and SPIRE spectrometers. More than 100 lines are detected, most of them rotationally excited lines of 12CO (up to J=48-47), H2O, OH, 13CO, and HCN. Peaks 1/2 are characterized by a very high L(CO)/L(FIR)~5x10^{-3} ratio and a plethora of far-IR H2O emission line…
We report 1.2 mm polarized continuum emission observations carried out with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) toward the high-mass star formation region G5.89-0.39. The observations show a prominent 0.2 pc north-south filamentary structure. The UCHII in G5.89-0.39 breaks the filament in two pieces. Its millimeter emission shows a dusty belt with a mass of 55-115 M$_{\odot}$ and 4,500 au in radius, surrounding an inner part comprising mostly ionized gas with a dust emission only accounting about 30% of the total millimeter emission. We also found a lattice of convex arches…
