Initial highlights of the HOBYS key program, the Herschel imaging survey of OB young stellar objects

Abstract

We present the initial highlights of the HOBYS key program, which are based on Herschel images of the Rosette molecular complex and maps of the RCW120 H ii region. Using both SPIRE at 250/350/500 μm and PACS at 70/160 μm or 100/160 μm, the HOBYS survey provides an unbiased and complete census of intermediate- to high-mass young stellar objects, some of which are not detected by Spitzer. Key core properties, such as bolometric luminosity and mass (as derived from spectral energy distributions), are used to constrain their evolutionary stages. We identify a handful of high-mass prestellar cores and show that their lifetimes could be shorter in the Rosette molecular complex than in nearby low-mass star-forming regions. We also quantify the impact of expanding H ii regions on the star formation process acting in both Rosette and RCW 120. © 2010 ESO.