High-mass star formation in the IRAS 17233-3606 region: a new nearby and bright hot core in the southern sky

Aims. We present molecular line observations of the massive star-forming region IRAS 17233-3606 aimed at studying the molecular core associated with the source. Methods. The observations were made using the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope in the CO (3-2) and HCO+ (4–3) transitions and in the CH3OH (6$_K{-}5_K$), (7$_K{-}6_K$), and CH3CN (16$_K{-}15_K$) bands. For the CO(3–2) and HCO+ (4–3) transitions, we obtained maps with a size of $70''\times 70''$. The typical angular resolution of the data is ∼$18\arcsec$. Results. Our observations reveal an exceptionally rich molecular spectrum, one signpost of hot core activity. Comparisons with two other prominent southern hot cores were made through observations in the same frequency setups. We also detected a bipolar outflow in CO (3–2) and HCO+ (4–3) lines. Modelling reveals a hot core of size ∼$3\arcsec$ and a temperature of 150 K in the IRAS 17233-3606 region. The parameters of the molecular outflow are derived through the analysis of the CO (3–2) emission, and are typical of outflows driven by high-mass young stellar objects