Paper detail

Line Profiles of Cores within Clusters. III. What is the most reliable tracer of core collapse in dense clusters?

Recent observational and theoretical investigations have emphasised the importance of filamentary networks within molecular clouds as sites of star formation. Since such environments are more complex than those of isolated cores, it is essential to understand how the observed line profiles from collapsing cores with non-spherical geometry are affected by filaments. In this study, we investigate line profile asymmetries by performing radiative transfer calculations on hydrodynamic models of three collapsing cores that are embedded in filaments. We compare the results to those that are expected for isolated cores. We model the five lowest rotational transition line (J = 1-0, 2-1, 3-2, 4-3, and 5-4) of both optically thick (HCN, HCO$^+$) as well as optically thin (N$_2$H$^+$, H$^{13}$CO$^+$) molecules using constant abundance laws. We find that less than 50% of simulated (1-0) transition lines show blue infall asymmetries due to obscuration by the surrounding filament. However, the fraction of collapsing cores that have a blue asymmetric emission line profile rises to 90% when observed in the (4-3) transition. Since the densest gas towards the collapsing core can excite higher rotational states, upper level transitions are more likely to produce blue asymmetric emission profiles. We conclude that even in irregular, embedded cores one can trace infalling gas motions with blue asymmetric line profiles of optically thick lines by observing higher transitions. The best tracer of collapse motions of our sample is the (4-3) transition of HCN, but the (3-2) and (5-4) transitions of both HCN and HCO$^+$ are also good tracers.