Molecular globules in Orion's Veil bubble. IRAM 30m 12CO, 13CO, and C18O 2-1 expanded maps of Orion A

Strong winds and ultraviolet (UV) radiation from O-type stars disrupt and ionize their molecular core birthplaces sweeping up material into parsec size shells. Owing to dissociation by starlight, the thinnest shells are expected to host low molecular abundances; thus, little star-formation. Here we enlarge previous observations taken with the IRAM 30m telescope and present square-degree 12CO and 13CO (J=2-1) maps of the wind-driven "Veil bubble" that surrounds the Trapezium cluster and its natal Orion molecular core (OMC). Although widespread and extended CO emission is largely absent from the Veil, we show that several CO "globules" exist embedded in the [CII]158um-bright shell that confines the bubble. This includes the first detection of quiescent CO at negative LSR velocities in Orion. Given the harsh UV irradiation conditions in this translucent material, the detection of CO globules is surprising. These globules are small: R_cl=7,100 AU, not massive: M_cl=0.3 M_sun, and moderately dense: n_H=4x10^4 cm^-3 (median values). They are confined by the shell's external pressure, P_ext/k ~ 10^7 cm^-3 K, and are likely magnetically supported. They are either transient objects formed by instabilities or have detached from pre-existing molecular structures, sculpted by the passing shock associated with the expanding shell and by UV radiation from the Trapezium. Some represent the first stages in the formation of small pillars, others of isolated small globules. Although their masses do not suggest they will form stars, one globule matches the position of a known young stellar object. The lack of extended CO in the "Veil shell" demonstrates that feedback from massive stars expels, agitates, and reprocesses most of the disrupted molecular cloud gas; thus, limiting the star-formation rate in the region. The presence of globules is a result of this feedback.