We present the first results from the science demonstration phase for the Hi-GAL survey, the Herschel key program that will map the inner Galactic plane of the Milky Way in 5 bands. We outline our data reduction strategy and present some science highlights on the two observed 2 • × 2 • tiles approximately centered at l = 30 • and l = 59 • . The two regions are extremely rich in intense and highly structured extended emission which shows a widespread organization in filaments. Source SEDs can be built for hundreds of objects in the two fields, and physical parameters can be extracted, for a good fraction of them where the distance could be estimated. The compact sources (which we will call cores' in the following) are found for the most part to be associated with the filaments, and the relationship to the local beam-averaged column density of the filament itself shows that a core seems to appear when a threshold around A V ∼ 1 is exceeded for the regions in the l = 59 • field; a A V value between 5 and 10 is found for the l = 30 • field, likely due to the relatively higher distances of the sources. This outlines an exciting scenario where diffuse clouds first collapse into filaments, which later fragment to cores where the column density has reached a critical level. In spite of core L/M ratios being well in excess of a few for many sources, we find core surface densities between 0.03 and 0.5 g cm −2 . Our results are in good agreement with recent MHD numerical simulations of filaments forming from large-scale converging flows.

Abstract. We report on interferometric observations at 3.2 and 1.3 mm of the massive young stellar object IRAS 20126+4104 obtained in the C 34 S and CH 3 OH lines and in the continuum emission. The C 34 S data confirm the existence of a Keplerian disk, as already suggested by various authors. However, the mass of the central object is ∼7 M , significantly less than previous estimates. We believe that such a discrepancy is due to the fact that the rotation curve is affected not only by the star but also by the mass in the innermost regions of the disk itself: this leads to an overestimate of the stellar mass when low-density tracers are used to study the velocity field over regions larger than a few seconds of arc (i.e. a few 0.01 pc). On the basis of the line profiles we speculate that accretion onto the star might be still occurring through the disk. This seems consistent with current models of high-mass star formation which predict an accretion luminosity equal to that of IRAS 20126+4104 for a 7 M protostar. The CH 3 OH lines trace both the disk and the bipolar outflow previously detected in other molecules such as HCO + , SiO, and H 2 . New H 2 images obtained at 2.2 µm confirm that the outflow axis is undergoing precession. We elaborate a simple model that suitably fits the data thus allowing derivation of a few basic parameters of the precession.

ABSTRACT. Hi-GAL, the Herschel infrared Galactic Plane Survey, is an Open Time Key Project of the Herschel Space Observatory. It will make an unbiased photometric survey of the inner Galactic plane by mapping a 2°wide strip in the longitude range |l| < 60°in five wavebands between 70 μm and 500 μm. The aim of Hi-GAL is to detect the earliest phases of the formation of molecular clouds and high-mass stars and to use the optimum combination of Herschel wavelength coverage, sensitivity, mapping strategy, and speed to deliver a homogeneous census of starforming regions and cold structures in the interstellar medium. The resulting representative samples will yield the variation of source temperature, luminosity, mass and age in a wide range of Galactic environments at all scales from massive YSOs in protoclusters to entire spiral arms, providing an evolutionary sequence for the formation of intermediate and high-mass stars. This information is essential to the formulation of a predictive global model of the role of environment and feedback in regulating the star-formation process. Such a model is vital to understanding star formation on galactic scales and in the early universe. Hi-GAL will also provide a science legacy for decades to come with incalculable potential for systematic and serendipitous science in a wide range of astronomical fields, enabling the optimum use of future major facilities such as JWST and ALMA.

We present the first Herschel PACS and SPIRE photometric observations in a portion of the outer Galaxy (216. • 5 225.• 5 and −2 • b 0 • ) as a part of the Hi-GAL survey. The maps between 70 and 500 μm, the derived column density and temperature maps, and the compact source catalog are presented. NANTEN CO(1-0) line observations are used to derive cloud kinematics and distances so that we can estimate distance-dependent physical parameters of the compact sources (cores and clumps) having a reliable spectral energy distribution that we separate into 255 proto-stellar and 688 starless sources. Both typologies are found in association with all the distance components observed in the field, up to ∼5.8 kpc, testifying to the presence of star formation beyond the Perseus arm at these longitudes. Selecting the starless gravitationally bound sources, we identify 590 pre-stellar candidates. Several sources of both proto-and pre-stellar nature are found to exceed the minimum requirement for being compatible with massive star formation based on the mass-radius relation. For the pre-stellar sources belonging to the Local arm (d 1.5 kpc) we study the mass function whose high-mass end shows a power law N (log M) ∝ M −1.0±0.2 . Finally, we use a luminosity versus mass diagram to infer the evolutionary status of the sources, finding that most of the proto-stellar sources are in the early accretion phase (with some cases compatible with a Class I stage), while for pre-stellar sources, in general, accretion has not yet started.