A search for High Mass Stars Forming in Isolation using CORNISH &
  ATLASGAL
  Theoretical models of high mass star formation lie between two extreme
scenarios. At one extreme, all the mass comes from an initially
gravitationally-bound core. At the other extreme, the majority of the mass
comes from cluster scale gas, which lies far outside the initial core boundary.
One way to unambiguously show high mass stars can assemble their gas through
the former route would be to find a high mass star forming in isolation. Making
use of recently available CORNISH and ATLASGAL Galactic plane survey data, we
develop sample selection criteria to try and find such an object. From an
initial list of approximately 200 sources, we identify the high mass star
forming region G13.384+0.064 as the most promising candidate. The region
contains a strong radio continuum source, that is powered by an early B-type
star. The bolometric luminosity, derived from infrared measurements, is
consistent with this. However, sub-millimetre continuum emission, measured in
ATLASGAL, as well as dense gas tracers, such as HCO+(3-2) and N2H+(3-2)
indicate that there is less than 100 M$_{\odot}$ of material surrounding this
star. We conclude that this region is indeed a promising candidate for a high
mass star forming in isolation, but that deeper near-IR observations are
required to put a stronger constraint on the upper mass limit of young, lower
mass stars in the region. Finally, we discuss the challenges facing future
studies in proving a given high mass star is forming in isolation.
