The Planck Cold Clump G108.37-01.06: A Site of Complex Interplay between H ii Regions, Young Clusters, and Filaments

Abstract

Abstract The Planck Galactic Cold Clumps (PGCCs) are possible representations of the initial conditions and very early stages of star formation. With the objective of understanding better the star and star cluster formation, we probe the molecular cloud associated with PGCC G108.37-01.06 (hereafter PG108.3), which can be traced in a velocity range of −57 to −51 km s−1. The INT Photometric Hα Survey images reveal Hα emission at various locations around PG108.3, and optical spectroscopy of the bright sources in those zones of Hα emission discloses two massive ionizing sources with spectral type O8−O9V and B1V. Using the radio continuum, we estimate ionizing gas parameters and find the dynamical ages of H ii regions associated with the massive stars in the range of 0.5–0.75 Myr. Based on the stellar surface density map constructed from the deep near-infrared Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope observations, we find two prominent star clusters in PG108.3; of these, the cluster associated with H ii region S148 is moderately massive (∼240 M ⊙). A careful inspection of James Clerk Maxwell telescope 13CO (3–2) molecular data exhibits that the massive cluster is associated with a number of filamentary structures. Several embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) are also identified in PG108.3 along the length and junction of filaments. We find evidence of a velocity gradient along the length of the filaments. Along with kinematics of the filaments and the distribution of ionized, molecular gas and YSOs, we suggest that the cluster formation is most likely due to the longitudinal collapse of the most massive filament in PG108.3.