Complex Organic Molecules at High Spatial Resolution Toward Orion-KL I:
  Spatial Scales
  Here we present high spatial resolution (<1 arcsecond) observations of
molecular emission in Orion-KL conducted using the Combined Array for Research
in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). This work was motivated by recent
millimeter continuum imaging studies of this region conducted at a similarly
high spatial resolution, which revealed that the bulk of the emission arises
from numerous compact sources, rather than the larger-scale extended structures
typically associated with the Orion Hot Core and Compact Ridge. Given that the
spatial extent of molecular emission greatly affects the determination of
molecular abundances, it is important to determine the true spatial scale for
complex molecules in this region. Additionally, it has recently been suggested
that the relative spatial distributions of complex molecules in a source might
give insight into the chemical mechanisms that drive complex chemistry in
star-forming regions. In order to begin to address these issues, this study
seeks to determine the spatial distributions of ethyl cyanide [C2H5CN],
dimethyl ether [(CH3)2O], methyl formate [HCOOCH3], formic acid [HCOOH],
acetone [(CH3)2CO], SiO, methanol [CH3OH], and methyl cyanide [CH3CN] in
Orion-KL at \lambda = 3 mm. We find that for all observed molecules, the
molecular emission arises from multiple components of the cloud that include a
range of spatial scales and physical conditions. Here we present the results of
these observations and discuss the implications for studies of complex
molecules in star-forming regions.
