Flickering of 1.3 cm sources in SGR B2: Toward a solution to the ultracompact h II region lifetime problem

Abstract

Accretion flows onto massive stars must transfer mass so quickly that they are themselves gravitationally unstable, forming dense clumps and filaments. These density perturbations interact with young massive stars, emitting ionizing radiation, alternately exposing and confining their H II regions. As a result, the H II regions are predicted to flicker in flux density over periods of decades to centuries rather than increase monotonically in size as predicted by simple Spitzer solutions. We have recently observed the Sgr B2 region at 1.3 cm with the Very Large Array in its three hybrid configurations (DnC, CnB, and BnA) at a resolution of0.″25. These observations were made to compare in detail with matched continuum observations from 1989. At 0.″25 resolution, Sgr B2 contains 41 ultracompact (UC) H II regions, 6 of which are hypercompact. The new observations of Sgr B2 allow comparison of relative peak flux densities for the H II regions in Sgr B2 over a 23 year time baseline (1989-2012) in one of the most source-rich massive star forming regions in the Milky Way. The new 1.3 cm continuum images indicate that four of the 41 UC H II regions exhibit significant changes in their peak flux density, with one source (K3) dropping in peak flux density, and the other three sources (F10.303, F1, and F3) increasing in peak flux density. The results are consistent with statistical predictions from simulations of high mass star formation, suggesting that they offer a solution to the lifetime problem for UC H II regions. © 2014. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.