SiO emission from low- and high-velocity shocks in Cygnus-X massive dense clumps

Abstract

We used PdBI observations of SiO (2-1) to investigate the morphology and profile of the SiO emission within several massive dense clumps (MDCs) in Cygnus-X. We find that most molecular outflows are detected in both SiO and CO, although there are some cases of CO outflows with no SiO counterpart. We find a significant amount of narrow line SiO emission that appears to be unrelated to outflows. The fraction of the total SiO luminosity that is not associated with outflows is highly variable in the different MDCs (from 10% to 90%); this might be a problem when extrapolating outflow properties from SiO luminosities without resolving individual outflows. The extent of the narrow SiO emission varies from rather compact (~ 0.03 pc) to widespread (~0.2 pc), and its kinematics often differs from those found by other high-density tracers such as H13CO+. We find that the least centrally concentrated clumps with the least massive protostellar cores have the most widespread narrow SiO emission. In line with previous evidence of SiO emission associated with low-velocity shocks, we propose an evolutionary picture to explain the existence and distribution of narrow SiO line profiles. In this scenario, the least centrally condensed MDCs are at an early stage where the SiO emission traces shocks from the large-scale collapse of material onto the MDC (e.g. CygX-N40). As the MDC collapses, the SiO emission becomes more confined to the close surroundings of cores, tracing the post-shock material from the infalling MDC against the dense cores (e.g. CygX-N3, N12, and N48). At later stages, when single massive protostars are formed, the SiO luminosity is largely dominated by powerful outflows, and the weaker narrow component shows perhaps the last remnants of the initial collapse (e.g. CygX-N53 and N63).