2011ApJ...739L...4R

Thioxoethenylidene (CCS) is an abundant interstellar molecule and a good tracer of high density and evolutionary stage of dense molecular clouds. It is also a suitable candidate for Zeeman splitting observations for its high splitting factor and narrow thermal line widths. We report here Expanded Very Large Array 22.3 GHz observations of three dense molecular cores TMC-1, TMC-1C, and L1521B in the Taurus molecular cloud complex to image the CCS 2₁-1₀transition. For all three sources, the clumpy CCS emission is most likely tracing the starless cores. However, these compact structures account for only ∼1%-13% of the integrated emission detected in single-dish observations, indicating the presence of significant large-scale diffuse emission in favorable conditions for producing CCS.