Early science with the Large Millimetre Telescope: An LMT/AzTEC 1.1 mm Survey of Dense Cores in the Monoceros R2 Giant Molecular Cloud

Abstract

We present a 1.1~mm census of dense cores in the Mon~R2 Giant Molecular Cloud with the AzTEC instrument on the Large Millimeter Telescope (LMT). We detect 295 cores (209 starless, and 86 with protostars) in a two square degree shallow survey. We also carry out a deep follow-up survey of 9 regions with low to intermediate ($3 $10~$M_{\odot}$ are exclusively found in regions with high core number densities and that the CMF of the starless cores has an excess of low-mass cores ($<$5~$M_{\odot}$) compared to the CMF of protostellar cores. We report a power law correlation of index $1.99 \pm 0.03$ between local core mass density and gas column density (as traced by Herschel) over a wide range of size scales (0.3-5~pc). This power law is consistent with that predicted for thermal fragmentation of a self-gravitating sheet.