Effect of Feedback of Massive Stars in the Fragmentation, Distribution, and Kinematics of the Gas in Two Star-forming Regions in the Carina Nebula

Abstract

We present ALMA high spatial resolution observations toward two star-forming regions located in one of the most extreme zones of star formation in the Galaxy, the Carina Nebula. One region is located at the center of the nebula and is severally affected by the stellar feedback from high-mass stars, while the other region is located farther south and is less disturbed by the massive-star clusters. We found that the region at the center of the nebula is forming less but more massive cores than the region located in the south, suggesting that the level of stellar feedback effectively influences the fragmentation process in clumps. Lines such as HCN, HCO<SUP>+</SUP>, and SiO show abundant and complex gas distributions in both regions, confirming the presence of ionization and shock fronts. Jeans analysis suggests that the observed core masses in the region less affected by the massive stars are consistent with thermal fragmentation, but turbulent Jeans fragmentation might explain the high masses of the cores identified in the region in the center of Carina. Consistently, two different analyses in the HCO<SUP>+</SUP> line provided evidence for a higher level of turbulence in the gas more affected by the stellar feedback. The gas column density probability functions, N-pdf's, show lognormal shapes with clear transitions to power-law regimes. We observed a wider N-pdf in the region at the center of the nebula, which provides further evidence for a higher level of turbulence in the material with a higher level of massive stellar feedback.