Complex Organic Molecules Detected in 12 High-mass Star-forming Regions with Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array

Abstract

Recent astrochemical models and experiments have explained that complex organic molecules (COMs; molecules composed of six or more atoms) are produced on the dust grain mantles in cold and dense gas in prestellar cores. However, the detailed chemical processes and the roles of physical conditions on chemistry are still far from understood. To address these questions, we investigated 12 high-mass star-forming regions using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band 6 observations. They are associated with 44/95 GHz class I and 6.7 GHz class II CH3OH masers, indicative of undergoing active accretion. We found 28 hot cores with COM emission among 68 continuum peaks at 1.3 mm and specified 10 hot cores associated with 6.7 GHz class II CH3OH masers. Up to 19 COMs are identified including oxygen- and nitrogen-bearing molecules and their isotopologues in cores. The derived abundances show a good agreement with those from other low- and high-mass star-forming regions, implying that the COM chemistry is predominantly set by the ice chemistry in the prestellar core stage. One clear trend is that the COM detection rate steeply grows with the gas column density, which can be attributed to the efficient formation of COMs in dense cores. In addition, cores associated with a 6.7 GHz class II CH3OH maser tend to be enriched with COMs. Finally, our results suggest that the enhanced abundances of several molecules in our hot cores could be originated by the active accretion as well as different physical conditions of cores.