Surveys of Clumps, Cores, and Condensations in Cygnus X. II. Radio Properties of Massive Dense Cores

Abstract

Abstract We have carried out a high-sensitivity and high-resolution radio continuum study toward a sample of 47 massive dense cores (MDCs) in the Cygnus X star-forming complex using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array, aiming to detect and characterize the radio emission associated with star-forming activities down to ∼0.01 pc scales. We have detected 64 radio sources within or closely around the FWHMs of the MDCs, of which 37 are reported for the first time. The majority of the detected radio sources are associated with dust condensations embedded within the MDCs, and they are mostly weak and compact. We are able to build spectral energy distributions for eight sources. Two of them indicate nonthermal emission and the other six indicate thermal free–free emission. We have determined that most of the radio sources are ionized jets or winds originating from massive young stellar objects, whereas only a few sources are likely to be ultracompact H ii regions. Further quantitative analyses indicate that the radio luminosity of the detected radio sources increases along the evolution path of the MDCs.