Molecular outflows from the protocluster Serpens south

Abstract

We present the results of CO (J = 3-2) and HCO+ (J = 4-3) mapping observations toward a nearby embedded cluster, Serpens South, using the ASTE 10 m telescope. Our CO (J = 3-2) map reveals that many outflows are crowded in the dense cluster-forming clump that can be recognized as an HCO+ clump with a size of ∼0.2 pc and mass of ∼80 M⊙. The clump contains several subfragments with sizes of ∼0.05 pc. By comparing the CO (J = 3-2) map with the 1.1 mm dust continuum image taken by AzTEC on ASTE, we find that the spatial extents of the outflow lobes are sometimes anti-correlated with the distribution of the dense gas, and some of the outflow lobes apparently collide with the dense gas. The total outflow mass, momentum, and energy are estimated to be 0.6 M⊙, 8 M⊙ kms-1, and 64 M⊙ km2 s-2, respectively. The energy injection rate due to the outflows is comparable to the turbulence dissipation rate in the clump, implying that the protostellar outflows can maintain the supersonic turbulence in this region. The total outflow energy seems only about 10% of the clump gravitational energy. We conclude that the current outflow activity is not enough to destroy the whole cluster-forming clump, and therefore star formation is likely to continue for several or many local dynamical times. © 2011 The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.