Planck Cold Clumps in the λ Orionis Complex. III. A Chemical Probe of Stellar Feedback on Cores in the λ Orionis Cloud

Abstract Massive stars have a strong impact on their local environments. However, how stellar feedback regulates star formation is still under debate. In this context, we studied the chemical properties of 80 dense cores in the Orion molecular cloud complex composed of the Orion A (39 cores), B (26 cores), and λ Orionis (15 cores) clouds using multiple molecular line data taken with the Korean Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network 21 m telescopes. The λ Orionis cloud has an H ii bubble surrounding the O-type star λ Ori, and hence it is exposed to the ultraviolet (UV) radiation field of the massive star. The abundances of C2H and HCN, which are sensitive to UV radiation, appear to be higher in the cores in the λ Orionis cloud than in those in the Orion A and B clouds, while the HDCO to H2CO abundance ratios show the opposite trend, indicating warmer conditions in the λ Orionis cloud. The detection rates of dense gas tracers such as the N2H+, HCO+, and H13CO+ lines are also lower in the λ Orionis cloud. These chemical properties imply that the cores in the λ Orionis cloud are heated by UV photons from λ Ori. Furthermore, the cores in the λ Orionis cloud do not show any statistically significant excess in the infall signature of HCO+ (1–0), unlike those in the Orion A and B clouds. Our results support the idea that feedback from massive stars impacts star formation in a negative way by heating and evaporating dense materials, as in the λ Orionis cloud.