MOLECULAR CLUMPS AND INFRARED CLUSTERS IN THE S247, S252, AND BFS52 REGIONS

Abstract

We present results of the observations carried out toward the S247, S252, and BFS52 H II regions with various molecular lines using the 1.85?m radio telescope and the 45?m telescope at Nobeyama Radio Observatory. There are at least 11 young infrared clusters (IR clusters) within the observed region. We found that there are two velocity components in 12CO?(J = 2-1), and also that their spatial distributions show an anti-correlation. The IR clusters are located at their interfaces, suggesting that two distinct clouds with different velocities are colliding with each other, which may have induced the cluster formation. Based on 13CO?(J = 1-0) and C18O (J = 1-0) observations, we identified 16 clumps in and around the three H II regions. Eleven of the clumps are associated with the IR clusters and the other five clumps are not associated with any known young stellar objects. We investigated variations in the velocity dispersions of the 16 clumps as a function of the distance from the center of the clusters or the clumps. Clumps with clusters tend to have velocity dispersions that increase with distance from the cluster center, while clumps without clusters show a flat velocity dispersion over the clump extents. A 12CO?outflow has been found in some of the clumps with IR clusters but not in the other clumps, supporting a strong relation of these clumps to the broader velocity dispersion region. We also estimated a mean star formation efficiency of ~30% for the clumps with IR clusters in the three H II regions.