INTERFEROMETRIC OBSERVATIONS OF NITROGEN-BEARING MOLECULAR SPECIES IN THE STAR-FORMING CORE AHEAD OF HH 80N

We present Very Large Array NH sub(3) and Plateau de Bure Interferometer NH sub(2)D and HN super(13)C observations of the star-forming core ahead of HH 80N, the optically obscured northern counterpart of the Herbig-Haro objects HH 80/81. The main goal is to determine the kinematical information of the high density regions of the core (n [> ~] 10 super(5) cm super(-3)) missed in previous works due to the depletion of the species observed (e.g., CS). The obtained maps show different kinematical signatures between the eastern and western parts of the core, suggesting a possible dynamical interaction of the core with the HH 80/81/80N outflow. The analysis of the position-velocity (P-V) plots of these species rules out a previous interpretation of having a molecular ring-like structure with a radius of 6 x 10 super(4) AU traced by CS infalling onto a central protostar found in the core (IRS1). A high degree of NH sub(3) deuteration, with respect to the central part of the core harboring IRS1, is derived in the eastern part, where a dust condensation (SE) is located. This deuteration trend of NH sub(3) suggests that SE is in a pre-stellar evolutionary stage, earlier than that of IRS1. Since SE is the closest condensation to the HH 80N/81/80N outflow, in a case of outflow-core dynamical interaction, it should be perturbed first and be the most evolved condensation in the core. Therefore, the derived evolutionary sequence for SE and IRS1 makes outflow triggered star formation on IRS1 unlikely.