The shocked molecular layer in RCW 120

Abstract

ABSTRACT Expansion of wind-blown bubbles or H ii regions lead to formation of shocks in the interstellar medium, which compress surrounding gas into dense layers. We made spatially and velocity-resolved observations of the RCW 120 photo-dissociation region (PDR) and nearby molecular gas with CO(6–5) and 13CO(6–5) lines and distinguished a bright CO-emitting layer, which we related with the dense shocked molecular gas moving away from the ionizing star due to expansion of H ii region. Simulating gas density and temperature, as well as brightness of several CO and C+ emission lines from the PDR, we found reasonable agreement with the observed values. Analysing gas kinematics, we revealed the large-scale shocked PDR and also several dense environments of embedded protostars and outflows. We observe the shocked layer as the most regular structure in the CO(6–5) map and in the velocity space, when the gas around Young stellar objects (YSOs) is dispersed by the outflows.