(Sub)mm continuum mapping of NGC 6334 I & I(N) - A cobweb of filaments andprotostars

We present high resolution (sub)mm continuum maps obtained with the bolomet er UKT14 on the JCMT of the high mass star formation complex NGC 6334 I and I(N), the latter also known as Gezari's cold source (Gezari 1982). The: ma ps at 1.1 mm and 800 mu m cover the whole northern part of the NGC 6334 com plex (similar to 5' x 8'), while the coverage is more limited at 450 mu m a nd 350 mu m and centered on NGC 6334 I(N). The strongest dust emission at all wavelengths originates: from a compact s ource near or coincident with the Ultracompact HII - region NCC 6334 F and the FIR-source and hot core region NGC 6334 1. The dust in NGC 6334 I is ho t, T-d greater than or equal to 100 K, and we derive a total mass (gas + du st) of similar to 200 M.. We resolve Gezari's cold source into a compact (d econvolved FWHM similar to 10 ") dust source, which appears optically thick even at 1.1 mm. I(N) is embedded in a dense cloud core, similar to 2.5' x 1.5', with a mass of similar to 2200 M.. I(N) is clearly a high-mass Class O object. It emits a large fraction of its luminosity in the sub-mm (L-bol similar to 1.7 10(4) L.,), it drives a molecular outflow and coincides with a CH3OH maser, suggesting that I(N) has already formed a hot accretion dis k. We derive a total mass of 250300 M..,, corresponding to an average gas d ensity 1.6-2.6 10(7) cm(-3) and a line of sight visual extinction of greate r than or equal to 2000(m), rendering it impossible to detect I(N) even in the thermal or mid-IR. We also find eight additional compact sub-mm sources. Some of these are pro bable high-to-intermediate mass protostars, some may be massive cold starle ss cloud cores that eventually will collapse to form stars. Our sub-mm maps also show a remarkable narrow, lumpy, linear filament, which has no optica l or near-IR counterpart. This filament bounds the dust emission to the wes t and is at least 7' (3.5 pc) in length with a width of similar to 5 "-20 " . It breaks up into dense condensations with a separation of 3-4 times the width of the filament.