The origin and evolution of the [CII] deficit in HII regions and star-forming molecular clouds

Abstract: We analyse synthetic maps of the [CII] 158 $\mu$m line and FIR continuum of simulated molecular clouds (MCs) within the SILCC-Zoom project to study the origin of the [CII] deficit, i.e., the drop in the [CII]/FIR intensity ratio. All simulations include stellar radiative feedback and account for further ionisation of C$^+$ into C$^{2+}$ inside HII regions. For individual HII regions, $I_\mathrm{FIR}$ is initially high in the vicinity of young stars, and then moderately decreases as the gas is compressed into shells. In contrast, $I_\mathrm{CII}$ drops strongly over time, to which the second ionisation of C$^+$ into C$^{2+}$ contributes. This leads to a large drop in $I_\mathrm{[CII]}/I_\mathrm{FIR}$ inside HII regions, decreasing from 10$^{-3}$-10$^{-2}$ at scales above 10 pc to 10$^{-6}$-10$^{-4}$ at scales below 2pc. However, projection effects can affect the radial profile of $I_\mathrm{[CII]}$ and $I_\mathrm{FIR}$ and create apparent HII regions without any stars. On MC scales, $L_\mathrm{[CII]}/L_\mathrm{FIR}$ decreases from values $\gtrsim$10$^{-2}$ in MCs without star formation to values around $\sim10^{-3}$ in MCs with star formation. We attribute this and the origin of the [CII] deficit to two main contributors: (i) the saturation of the [CII] line and (ii) the conversion of C$^+$ into C$^{2+}$ by stellar radiation. The drop in $L_\mathrm{[CII]}/L_\mathrm{FIR}$ can be divided into two phases: (i) early on, the saturation of [CII] and the further ionisation of C$^+$ limit the increase in $L_\mathrm{[CII]}$, while $L_\mathrm{FIR}$ increases rapidly, leading to the initial decline of $L_\mathrm{[CII]}/L_\mathrm{FIR}$. (ii) In more evolved HII regions, $L_\mathrm{CII}$ stagnates and even partially drops due to the aforementioned reasons. $L_\mathrm{FIR}$ stagnates as the gas gets pushed into the cooler shells keeping $L_\mathrm{[CII]}/L_\mathrm{FIR}$ at low values of $\sim10^{-3}$.