CHemical Evolution in MassIve star-forming COres (CHEMICO)

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Abstract
Context. Increasing evidence shows that most stars in the Milky Way, including the Sun, are born in star-forming regions that also contain high-mass stars. However, due to both observational and theoretical challenges, our understanding of their chemical evolution is much less clear than that of their low-mass counterparts. Aims. In this work, we present the project ‘CHemical Evolution of MassIve star-forming COres’ (CHEMICO). The project aims to investigate aspects of the chemical evolution of high-mass star-forming cores by observing representatives of the three main evolutionary categories: high-mass starless cores, high-mass protostellar objects, and ultra-compact HII (UCHII) regions. Methods. We carried out an unbiased spectral line survey of the entire bandwidth at 3, 2, and 1.2 mm with the 30m telescope of the Insitut de Radioastronomie millimétrique towards three targets that represent the three evolutionary stages. Results. The number of detected lines and species increases with evolution. In this first study, we derive the temperature structure of the targets through the analysis of the carbon-bearing species C2H, c-C3H, c-C3H2, C4H, CH3CCH, HC3N, CH3CN, and HC5N. The excitation temperature, Tex, increases with evolution in each species, although not uniformly. Hydrocarbons tend to be associated with the smallest Tex values and enhancements with evolution, while cyanides are associated with the highest Tex values and enhancements. In each target, the higher the number of atoms in the molecule, the higher Tex tends to be. Conclusions. The temperature structure evolves from a cold (~20 K), uniform envelope traced by simple hydrocarbons in the high-mass starless core stage, to a more stratified envelope in the protostellar stage made by a hot core (≥100 K), an intermediate shell with Tex ~30–60 K, and a larger cold envelope. Finally, in the UCHII stage, a hot core surrounded only by a cold envelope remains. These results suggest a steepening of the Tex radial profile as a function of time.

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