The JCMT 12CO(3-2) Survey of the Cygnus X Region: I. A Pathfinder
  Cygnus X is one of the most complex areas in the sky. This complicates
interpretation, but also creates the opportunity to investigate accretion into
molecular clouds and many subsequent stages of star formation, all within one
small field of view. Understanding large complexes like Cygnus X is the key to
understanding the dominant role that massive star complexes play in galaxies
across the Universe.
  The main goal of this study is to establish feasibility of a high-resolution
CO survey of the entire Cygnus X region by observing part of it as a
Pathfinder, and to evaluate the survey as a tool for investigating the
star-formation process.
  A 2x4 degree area of the Cygnus X region has been mapped in the 12CO(3-2)
line at an angular resolution of 15" and a velocity resolution of ~0.4km/s
using HARP-B and ACSIS on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The star formation
process is heavily connected to the life-cycle of the molecular material in the
interstellar medium. The high critical density of the 12CO(3-2) transition
reveals clouds in key stages of molecule formation, and shows processes that
turn a molecular cloud into a star.
  We observed ~15% of Cygnus X, and demonstrated that a full survey would be
feasible and rewarding. We detected three distinct layers of 12CO(3-2)
emission, related to the Cygnus Rift (500-800 pc), to W75N (1-1.8 kpc), and to
DR21 (1.5-2.5 kpc). Within the Cygnus Rift, HI self-absorption features are
tightly correlated with faint diffuse CO emission, while HISA features in the
DR21 layer are mostly unrelated to any CO emission. 47 molecular outflows were
detected in the Pathfinder, 27 of them previously unknown. Sequentially
triggered star formation is a widespread phenomenon.
