Abstract
We present an analysis of the effect of feedback from O- and B-type stars
with data from the integral field spectrograph MUSE mounted on the Very Large
Telescope of pillar-like structures in the Carina Nebular Complex, one of the
most massive star-forming regions in the Galaxy. For the observed pillars, we
compute gas electron densities and temperatures maps, produce integrated line
and velocity maps of the ionised gas, study the ionisation fronts at the pillar
tips, analyse the properties of the single regions, and detect two ionised jets
originating from two distinct pillar tips. For each pillar tip we determine the
incident ionising photon flux $Q_0,pil$ originating from the nearby
massive O- and B-type stars and compute the mass-loss rate $M$ of the
pillar tips due to photo-evaporation caused by the incident ionising radiation.
We combine the results of the Carina data set with archival MUSE data of a
pillar in NGC 3603 and with previously published MUSE data of the Pillars of
Creation in M16, and with a total of 10 analysed pillars, find tight
correlations between the ionising photon flux and the electron density, the
electron density and the distance from the ionising sources, and the ionising
photon flux and the mass-loss rate. The combined MUSE data sets of pillars in
regions with different physical conditions and stellar content therefore yield
an empirical quantification of the feedback effects of ionising radiation. In
agreement with models, we find that $MQ_0,pil^1/2$.
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