ATOMS: ALMA Three-millimeter Observations of Massive Star-forming regions – X. Chemical differentiation among the massive cores in G9.62+0.19

Abstract

ABSTRACTInvestigating the physical and chemical structure of massive star-forming regions is critical for understanding the formation and early evolution of massive stars. We performed a detailed line survey toward six dense cores, named MM1, MM4, MM6, MM7, MM8, and MM11, in the G9.62+0.19 star-forming region resolved in Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) band 3 observations. Toward these cores, about 172 transitions have been identified and attributed to 16 species, including organic oxygen-, nitrogen-, and sulphur-bearing molecules and their isotopologues. Four dense cores, MM7, MM8, MM4, and MM11, are line-rich sources. Modelling of these spectral lines reveals that the rotational temperature lies in the range 72–115, 100–163, 102–204, and 84–123 K for MM7, MM8, MM4, and MM11, respectively. The molecular column densities are 1.6 × 1015–9.2 × 1017 cm−2 toward the four cores. The cores MM8 and MM4 show a chemical difference between oxygen- and nitrogen-bearing species, i.e. MM4 is rich in oxygen-bearing molecules, while nitrogen-bearing molecules, especially vibrationally excited HC3N lines, are mainly observed in MM8. The distinct initial temperatures at the accretion phase may lead to this N/O differentiation. Through analysing column densities and spatial distributions of O-bearing complex organic molecules (COMs), we found that C2H5OH and CH3OCH3 might have a common precursor, CH3OH. CH3OCHO and CH3OCH3 are likely chemically linked. In addition, the observed variation in HC3N and HC5N emission may indicate their different formation mechanisms in hot and cold regions.