The JCMT dense gas survey in dense molecular clouds: an HCO+/HCN comparison

Abstract

We present the results of a large-scale survey of the very dense molecular gas in Perseus, Orion A and B, Serpens and Ophiuchus using HCO+ and HCN (J = 4 - 3) transitions. We have used this emission to trace the structure and kinematics of gas at the extremely high densities found in pre- and protostellar cores; as well as tracing outflows powered by these early star-forming cores. We present a comparison of the HCO+/HCN data, highlighting regions where there is a marked discrepancy in the spectra of the two emission lines. This is particularly noticeable in some of the more powerful outflows driven by Class 0 sources, where the HCN is greatly enhanced in the linewings in comparison with HCO+. We also use the HCO+ to positively identify protostellar outflows and their driving sources. We present a statistical analysis of the outflow properties that we derive from this tracer. We show that our results are comparable to those obtained from similar outflow analyses using 12CO.