The CepHeus-A Star formation and proper Motions (CHASM) Survey

Abstract

AbstractThe “CepHeus-A Star formation and proper Motions” (CHASM) survey is a large project consisting of a combination of astrometric Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations, to map both the stellar and dense molecular gas components in the star-forming region Cepheus A. With the VLBA, we make use of the CH3OH and H2O maser emission in the vicinity of Cepheus A HW2, in order to measure accurate proper motions and parallax distances to both T Tauri stars and massive young stellar objects (YSOs) belonging to the same star-forming region. With the Jansky VLA, we make use of the interstellar thermometer NH3, in order to image the molecular clump surrounding Cepheus A HW2 and to determine its physical conditions. By combining these informations all together, we can provide, for instance, a direct measurement of the Bondi-Hoyle accretion radius for a massive young star, namely, HW2.