Resolving the Vela C ridge with P-ArTéMiS and Herschel

We present APEX/P-ArTéMiS 450 μm continuum observations of RCW 36 and the adjacent ridge, a high-mass high-column density filamentary structure at the centre of the Vela C molecular cloud. These observations, at higher resolution than Herschel/SPIRE camera, reveal clear fragmentation of the central star-forming ridge. Combined with PACS far-infrared and SPIRE sub-millimetre observations from the Herschel HOBYS project we build a high resolution column density map of the region mapped with P-ArTéMiS. We extract the radial density profile of the Vela C ridge which with a ~0.1 pc central width is consistent with that measured for low-mass star-forming filaments in the Herschel Gould Belt survey. Direct comparison with Serpens South, of the Gould Belt Aquila complex, reveals many similarities between the two regions. Despite likely different formation mechanisms and histories, the Vela C ridge and Serpens South filament share common characteristics, including their filament central widths. This publication is based on data acquired with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) in ESO program 083.C-0996. APEX is a collaboration between the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, the European Southern Observatory, and the Onsala Space Observatory.Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.Figures 4, 5, and Appendix A are available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org