Reveals cloud-cloud collision induces massive star formation in the G35 complex, suggesting new insights into star formation mechanisms.
Bubble N68 in the G35 complex shows clear cloud–cloud collision (CCC) signatures. Its semiring-like morphology harbors many significant massive star formation tracers: 6 H ii regions, 4 6.7 GHz masers, 5 Midcourse Space Experiment sources, 9 radio peaks, and nearly 10 O/B-type stars. We also identified 163 young stellar objects (45 Class I, 5 Flat, 113 Class II), indicating active star formation toward N68. Our molecular study with CO reveals two distinct molecular clouds (N68a: 47–56 km s −1 ; N68b: 56–64 km s −1 ), with broad bridge features and complementary distributions at their borders, indicating an ongoing CCC. Star formation in N68 is collectively driven by collect-and-collapse (CC), radiation-driven implosion, and CCC mechanisms. However, compared with the CC and radiation-driven implosion mechanisms, the CCC mechanism does not enhance the star formation efficiency; instead, it tends to trigger the formation of massive stars. N68, along with bubbles N65 and N61, constructs a ∼100 pc scale CCC system in the G35 complex.
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