Infrared emission of young HII regions

We have also estimated the mass of the associated molecular clumps from the (sub)millimeter flux densities. Our main finding is that for ~1/3 of the HII regions the Lyman continuum luminosity appears to be greater than the value expected for a zero-age main-sequence star with the same bolometric luminosity. This result indicates that a considerable fraction of young, embedded early-type stars presents a "Lyman excess" possibly due to UV photons emitted from shocked material infalling onto the star itself and/or a circumstellar disk.

Finally, by comparing the bolometric and Lyman continuum luminosities with the mass of the associated clump, we derive a star formation efficiency of 5%. The results obtained suggest that accretion may still be present during the early stages of the evolution of HII regions, with important effects on the production of ionizing photons and thus on the circumstellar environment. More reliable numerical models describing the accretion process onto massive stars are required to shed light on the origin of the observed Lyman excess.