The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows
We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Camera observations of the massive star-forming molecular cloud Sagittarius C (Sgr C) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). In conjunction with ancillary mid-IR and far-IR data, we characterize the two most massive protostars in Sgr C via spe...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8889 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850198207610486784 |
|---|---|
| author | Samuel Crowe Rubén Fedriani Jonathan C. Tan Alva Kinman Yichen Zhang Morten Andersen Lucía Bravo Ferres Francisco Nogueras-Lara Rainer Schödel John Bally Adam Ginsburg Yu Cheng Yao-Lun Yang Sarah Kendrew Chi-Yan Law Joseph Armstrong Zhi-Yun Li |
| author_facet | Samuel Crowe Rubén Fedriani Jonathan C. Tan Alva Kinman Yichen Zhang Morten Andersen Lucía Bravo Ferres Francisco Nogueras-Lara Rainer Schödel John Bally Adam Ginsburg Yu Cheng Yao-Lun Yang Sarah Kendrew Chi-Yan Law Joseph Armstrong Zhi-Yun Li |
| author_sort | Samuel Crowe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Camera observations of the massive star-forming molecular cloud Sagittarius C (Sgr C) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). In conjunction with ancillary mid-IR and far-IR data, we characterize the two most massive protostars in Sgr C via spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, estimating that they each have current masses of m _* ∼ 20 M _⊙ and surrounding envelope masses of ∼100 M _⊙ . We report a census of lower-mass protostars in Sgr C via a search for infrared counterparts to millimeter continuum dust cores found with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We identify 88 molecular hydrogen outflow knot candidates originating from outflows from protostars in Sgr C, the first such unambiguous detections in the infrared in the CMZ. About a quarter of these are associated with flows from the two massive protostars in Sgr C; these extend for over 1 pc and are associated with outflows detected in ALMA SiO line data. An additional ∼40 features likely trace shocks in outflows powered by lower-mass protostars throughout the cloud. We report the discovery of a new star-forming region hosting two prominent bow shocks and several other line-emitting features driven by at least two protostars. We infer that one of these is forming a high-mass star given an SED-derived mass of m _* ∼ 9 M _⊙ and associated massive (∼90 M _⊙ ) millimeter core and water maser. Finally, we identify a population of miscellaneous molecular hydrogen objects that do not appear to be associated with protostellar outflows. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-13dcd16b6d774987b0409bd4930410cc |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-13dcd16b6d774987b0409bd4930410cc2025-08-20T02:12:55ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-0198311910.3847/1538-4357/ad8889The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar OutflowsSamuel Crowe0https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0394-3754Rubén Fedriani1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4040-4934Jonathan C. Tan2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3389-9142Alva Kinman3https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6570-9287Yichen Zhang4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7511-0034Morten Andersen5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5306-4089Lucía Bravo Ferres6https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4390-7937Francisco Nogueras-Lara7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6379-7593Rainer Schödel8https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5404-797XJohn Bally9https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8135-6612Adam Ginsburg10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6431-9633Yu Cheng11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8691-4588Yao-Lun Yang12https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8227-2816Sarah Kendrew13https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7612-0469Chi-Yan Law14https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1964-970XJoseph Armstrong15https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4855-1325Zhi-Yun Li16https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7402-6487Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA ; fec5fg@virginia.eduInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía , CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, E-18008 Granada, SpainDepartment of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA ; fec5fg@virginia.edu; Department of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 93 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 93 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Astronomy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 800 Dongchuan Rd., Minhang, Shanghai 200240, People's Republic of ChinaEuropean Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía , CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, E-18008 Granada, SpainEuropean Southern Observatory , Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, D-85748 Garching bei München, GermanyInstituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía , CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía s/n, E-18008 Granada, SpainCenter for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy, Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences Department, University of Colorado , UCB 389 Boulder, CO 80309, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Florida , P.O. Box 112055, Gainesville, FL 32611, USANational Astronomical Observatory of Japan , 2-21-1 Osawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588, JapanStar and Planet Formation Laboratory, RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research , Wako, Saitama 351-0198, JapanEuropean Space Agency, Space Telescope Science Institute , Baltimore, MD 21218, USAOsservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri , Largo Enrico Fermi, 5, 50125 Firenze FI, ItalyDepartment of Space, Earth & Environment, Chalmers University of Technology , 412 93 Gothenburg, SwedenDepartment of Astronomy, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA ; fec5fg@virginia.eduWe present James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Near Infrared Camera observations of the massive star-forming molecular cloud Sagittarius C (Sgr C) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ). In conjunction with ancillary mid-IR and far-IR data, we characterize the two most massive protostars in Sgr C via spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, estimating that they each have current masses of m _* ∼ 20 M _⊙ and surrounding envelope masses of ∼100 M _⊙ . We report a census of lower-mass protostars in Sgr C via a search for infrared counterparts to millimeter continuum dust cores found with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We identify 88 molecular hydrogen outflow knot candidates originating from outflows from protostars in Sgr C, the first such unambiguous detections in the infrared in the CMZ. About a quarter of these are associated with flows from the two massive protostars in Sgr C; these extend for over 1 pc and are associated with outflows detected in ALMA SiO line data. An additional ∼40 features likely trace shocks in outflows powered by lower-mass protostars throughout the cloud. We report the discovery of a new star-forming region hosting two prominent bow shocks and several other line-emitting features driven by at least two protostars. We infer that one of these is forming a high-mass star given an SED-derived mass of m _* ∼ 9 M _⊙ and associated massive (∼90 M _⊙ ) millimeter core and water maser. Finally, we identify a population of miscellaneous molecular hydrogen objects that do not appear to be associated with protostellar outflows.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8889Galactic centerMassive starsStellar jetsStar formationH II regionsStellar bow shocks |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Crowe Rubén Fedriani Jonathan C. Tan Alva Kinman Yichen Zhang Morten Andersen Lucía Bravo Ferres Francisco Nogueras-Lara Rainer Schödel John Bally Adam Ginsburg Yu Cheng Yao-Lun Yang Sarah Kendrew Chi-Yan Law Joseph Armstrong Zhi-Yun Li The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows The Astrophysical Journal Galactic center Massive stars Stellar jets Star formation H II regions Stellar bow shocks |
| title | The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows |
| title_full | The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows |
| title_fullStr | The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows |
| title_full_unstemmed | The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows |
| title_short | The JWST-NIRCam View of Sagittarius C. I. Massive Star Formation and Protostellar Outflows |
| title_sort | jwst nircam view of sagittarius c i massive star formation and protostellar outflows |
| topic | Galactic center Massive stars Stellar jets Star formation H II regions Stellar bow shocks |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ad8889 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT samuelcrowe thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT rubenfedriani thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT jonathanctan thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT alvakinman thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yichenzhang thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT mortenandersen thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT luciabravoferres thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT francisconogueraslara thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT rainerschodel thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT johnbally thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT adamginsburg thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yucheng thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yaolunyang thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT sarahkendrew thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT chiyanlaw thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT josepharmstrong thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT zhiyunli thejwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT samuelcrowe jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT rubenfedriani jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT jonathanctan jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT alvakinman jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yichenzhang jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT mortenandersen jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT luciabravoferres jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT francisconogueraslara jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT rainerschodel jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT johnbally jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT adamginsburg jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yucheng jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT yaolunyang jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT sarahkendrew jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT chiyanlaw jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT josepharmstrong jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows AT zhiyunli jwstnircamviewofsagittariuscimassivestarformationandprotostellaroutflows |