High-velocity flows in the NGC 7538 molecular cloud

Abstract

Observations of the high-velocity flows in the high-density core region of the molecular cloud NGC 7538 are reported. The core region is found to be a very active site of the flows. Three such flows, associated with IRS 1, IRS 9, and IRS 11, and one possible candidate are found. The energy input into the core region from the flows is so large that it can compensate for the energy dissipation by turbulence in the region for at least several tens of thousands of years. If the conversion efficiency is near 100 percent, the flows will destroy the core region. 34 refs.