First submillimeter lights from Dome A: Tracing the carbon cycle in the feedback of massive stars
The cycling of carbon between its ionized, atomic, and molecular phases shapes the chemical compositions and physical conditions of the interstellar medium (ISM). However, ground-based studies of the full carbon cycle have been limited by atmospheric absorption. Dome A, the most promising site for submillimeter astronomy, has long resisted successful submillimeter astronomical observations. Using the 60-centimeter Antarctic Terahertz Explorer, we present the first successful CO (4-3) and [CI] ([Formula: see text]) mapping observations of two archetypal triggered massive star-formation regions at Dome A. These data, together with archival [CII], provide the first complete characterization of all three carbon phases in these environments. We find elevated C<sup>0</sup>/CO abundance ratios in high-extinction regions, plausibly driven by deep penetration of intense radiation fields from massive stars into a clumpy ISM. These findings mark a major milestone for submillimeter astronomy at Dome A and offer valuable insights into the impact of massive star feedback on the surrounding ISM.
Authors
- Yan Gong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1329-7096)
- Z. H. Lin
- Jun Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3385-5318)
- Shengcai SHI
- J. I. A. Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8431-2567)
- J Quan
- Jiameng Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2649-4996)
- Y. Zhang
- Liang Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1633-1544)
- Boliang Liu
- Junda Jin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-5693-4870)
- Peng Jiang
- Yuan Ren (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8564-5569)
- Feng Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6369-249X)
- Jie Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7744-9744)
- Y. Liu
- R. Q. Mao
- Sudeep Neupane (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2766-075X)
- DaiZhong Liu
- Chenggang Shu
- Kun Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4060-7459)
- Dong Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5417-559X)
- Wensheng Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4712-8656)
- Jing Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5139-938X)
- Jiaqiang Zhong
- Qi Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9813-4650)
- Wei Miao
- ZhengHeng Luo
- Zidun Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4276-2401)
- Jingtao Liang
- Kangmin Zhou
- Yi Zhang
- Tuo Ji
- Yiping Ao
- Xingming Lu
- Xianjin Deng
- Shaoming Xie
- Li Li
- Wenying Duan
- Xuan Zhang
- Huiqian Hao
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Polar Research Institute of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shanghai Normal University (CN)
- China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CN)
- China Academy of Engineering Physics (CN)
- Purple Mountain Observatory (CN)
- Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics (CN)
- Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy (DE)
- National Astronomical Observatories (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Advances
- Published
- 2026-01-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aea9433
- Primary Topic
- Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00