Pillars of Creation among Destruction: Star Formation in Molecular Clouds near R136 in 30 Doradus

Abstract

We present new sensitive CO(2–1) observations of the 30 Doradus region in the Large Magellanic Cloud. We identify a chain of three newly discovered molecular clouds that we name KN1, KN2, and KN3 lying within 2–14 pc in projection from the young massive cluster R136 in 30 Doradus. Excited H 2 2.12 μ m emission is spatially coincident with the molecular clouds, but ionized Br γ emission is not. We interpret these observations as the tails of pillar-like structures whose ionized heads are pointing toward R136. Based on infrared photometry, we identify a new generation of stars forming within this structure.