Discovery of Nonthermal X-ray Emission from the Embedded Massive Star Forming Region RCW 38

Author(s)

S. Wolk, T. Bourke, R. K. Smith, B. Spitzbart, J. Alves

Abstract

We report on results of a 96.7 ks Chandra observation of one of the

youngest, most embedded and massive young stellar clusters studied to

date in X-rays -- RCW 38. We find a region of extended emission about

1.25 pc x 1.75 pc. The emission is consistent with synchrotron emission.

The power index of the emission steepens toward the cluster core

implying that the magnetic field originates there. This is the first

evidence of synchrotron emission filling a region of active star

formation. The source of the necessary magnetic field is unclear. We

measure the hydrogen column to the emission and find NH

increases from 7.6 x 1021 cm-2 to 1.61 x

1022 cm-2 increasing from the northwest to the

southeast quadrants of the cluster, consistent with near-infrared

extinction data. The work is supported by the Chandra X-ray Center NASA

Contract NAS8-39073 and by Chandra guest observer grant G02-3015X.

Organisation(s)

Department of Astrophysics

External organisation(s)

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Joint ALMA Observatory

Journal

Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society

Volume

201

Pages

1320

ISSN

0002-7537

Publication date

12-2002

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

103004 Astrophysics

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