First 450 μm dust continuum mapping of the massive star-forming region NGC 3576 with the P-ArTeMiS bolometer camera

Aims. In an effort to make progress in the current debate on the earliest phases of massive star formation, we took a census of Class 0-like protostellar dense cores in the NGC 3576 region, one of the nearest and most luminous embedded sites of high-mass star formation in the Galaxy. Methods. We used the P-ArTeMiS bolometer camera on the APEX telescope to produce the first 450 mu m dust continuum map of the filamentary dense clump associated with NGC 3576. Results. Combining our 450 mu m observations with existing data at other wavelengths, we identified seven massive protostellar sources along the NGC 3576 filament and placed them in the M-env-L-bol evolutionary diagram for protostars. Conclusions. Comparison with theoretical evolutionary tracks suggests that these seven protostellar sources will evolve into massive stars with masses M-* similar to 15-50 M-circle dot. Four sources are classified as candidate high-mass Class 0 objects, two sources as massive Class I objects, and one source appears to be at an intermediate stage.