ATOMS: ALMA Three-millimeter Observations of Massive Star-forming regions – XV. Steady accretion from global collapse to core feeding in massive hub-filament system SDC335

Abstract

ABSTRACT We present ALMA Band-3/7 observations towards ‘the Heart’ of a massive hub-filament system (HFS) SDC335, to investigate its fragmentation and accretion. At a resolution of ∼0.03 pc, 3 mm continuum emission resolves two massive dense cores MM1 and MM2, with $383(^{\scriptscriptstyle +234}_{\scriptscriptstyle -120})$ M⊙ (10–24 % mass of ‘the Heart’) and $74(^{\scriptscriptstyle +47}_{\scriptscriptstyle -24})$ M⊙, respectively. With a resolution down to 0.01 pc, 0.87 mm continuum emission shows MM1 further fragments into six condensations and multi-transition lines of H2CS provide temperature estimation. The relation between separation and mass of condensations at a scale of 0.01 pc favors turbulent Jeans fragmentation where the turbulence seems to be scale-free rather than scale-dependent. We use the H13CO+ J = 1 − 0 emission line to resolve the complex gas motion inside ‘the Heart’ in position-position-velocity space. We identify four major gas streams connected to large-scale filaments, inheriting the anti-clockwise spiral pattern. Along these streams, gas feeds the central massive core MM1. Assuming an inclination angle of 45(± 15)° and a H13CO+ abundance of 5(± 3) × 10−11, the total mass infall rate is estimated to be 2.40(± 0.78) × 10−3 M⊙ yr−1, numerically consistent with the accretion rates derived from the clump-scale spherical infall model and the core-scale outflows. The consistency suggests a continuous, near steady-state, and efficient accretion from global collapse, therefore ensuring core feeding. Our comprehensive study of SDC335 showcases the detailed gas kinematics in a prototypical massive infalling clump, and calls for further systematic and statistical studies in a large sample.