2022ApJ...933...20T

Massive dense clumps in the Large Magellanic Cloud can be an important laboratory to explore the formation of populous clusters. We report multiscale ALMA observations of the N159W-North clump, which is the most CO-intense region in the galaxy. High-resolution CO isotope and 1.3 mm continuum observations with an angular resolution of ∼0.''25 (∼0.07 pc) revealed more than five protostellar sources with CO outflows within the main ridge clump. One of the thermal continuum sources, MMS-2, shows an especially massive/dense nature whose total H₂ mass and peak column density are ∼10⁴M_☉ and ∼10²⁴ cm^–2, respectively, and harbors massive (∼100 M_☉) starless core candidates identified as its internal substructures. The main ridge containing this source can be categorized as one of the most massive protocluster systems in the Local Group. The CO high-resolution observations found several distinct filamentary clouds extending southward from the star-forming spots. The CO (1-0) data set with a larger field of view reveals a conical, ∼30 pc long complex extending toward the northern direction. These features indicate that a large-scale gas compression event may have produced the massive star-forming complex. Based on the striking similarity between the N159W-North complex and the other two previously reported high-mass star-forming clouds in the nearby regions, we propose a "teardrops inflow model" that explains the synchronized, extreme star formation across >50 pc, including one of the most massive protocluster clumps in the Local Group.