Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013

Poster 1K015

A Multi-Scale Continuum and Line Exploration of the Most Luminous Star Formation Region in the Milky Way. I. The Mass Structure of the Giant Molecular Cloud.

Galvan-Madrid, R. (ESO)
Liu, H. B. (ASIAA)
Zhang, Z.-Y. (PMO, MPIfR)
Pineda, J. E. (ESO, U. Manchester)
Peng, T.-C. (ESO)
Zhang, Q. (CfA)
Keto, E. R. (CfA)
Ho, P. T. P. (ASIAA, CfA)
Rodriguez, L. F. (CRyA-UNAM)
Zapata, L. (CRyA-UNAM)
Peters, T. (U. Zurich)
De Pree, C. G. (Agnes Scott)

Abstract:
The Multi-Scale Continuum and Line Exploration of W49 (MUSCLE W49) is a comprehensive gas and dust survey of the parental giant molecular cloud (GMC) of W49A, the most luminous (L~10^7.2 Lsun) star-formation region in the Milky Way. The project has multiple components that cover the entire GMC at different scales and angular resolutions, from 0.1 to 100 pc. We present a new all-configuration SMA mosaic of the central 10 pc (known as W49N), plus PMO mapping of the full GMC up to scales of 110 pc. We derive the mass structure of the GMC at all scales, revealing that the central ~0.1% of the volume, which contains ~20% of the total GMC mass, is forming a system of young massive clusters (YMCs). We compare our results with other possible sites of YMC formation in the Galaxy.

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