Dense Outflowing Molecular Gas in Massive Star-forming Regions

Abstract

Dense outflowing gas, traced by transitions of molecules with large dipole moment, is important for understanding mass loss and feedback of massive star formation. HCN 3-2 and HCO+ 3-2 are good tracers of dense outflowing molecular gas, which are closely related to active star formation. In this study, we present on-the-fly mapping observations of HCN 3-2 and HCO+ 3-2 toward a sample of 33 massive star-forming regions using the 10-m Submillimeter Telescope. With the spatial distribution of line wings of HCO+ 3-2 and HCN 3-2, outflows are detected in 25 sources, resulting in a detection rate of 76%. The optically thin H13CN and H13CO+ 3-2 lines are used to identify line wings as outflows and estimate core mass. The mass M out, momentum P out, kinetic energy E K , force F out, and mass-loss rate Ṁout of outflow and core mass, are obtained for each source. A sublinear tight correlation is found between the mass of dense molecular outflow and core mass, with an index of ∼0.8 and a correlation coefficient of 0.88.