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Register a new userThe Power of SOFIA/FORCAST in Estimating Internal Luminosities of Low Mass Class 0/I Protostars
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With the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) routinely operating science flights, we demonstrate that observations with the Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) can provide reliable estimates of the internal luminosities, $L_{rm int}$, of protostars. We have developed a technique to estimate $L_{rm int}$ using a pair of FORCAST filters: one short-wavelength filter centered within 19.7-25.3 $mu$m, and one long-wavelength filter within 31.5-37.1 $mu$m. These $L_{rm int}$ estimates are reliable to within 30-40% for 67% of protostars and to within a factor of 2.3-2.6 for 99% of protostars. The filter pair comprised of F25.3$mu$m and F37.1$mu$m achieves the best sensitivity and most constrained results. We evaluate several assumptions that could lead to systematic uncertainties. The OH5 dust opacity matches observational constraints for protostellar environments best, though not perfectly; we find that any improved dust model will have a small impact of 5-10% on the $L_{rm int}$ estimates. For protostellar envelopes, the TSC84 model yields masses that are twice those of the Ulrich model, but we conclude this mass difference does not significantly impact results at the mid-infrared wavelengths probed by FORCAST. Thus, FORCAST is a powerful instrument for luminosity studies targeting newly discovered protostars or suspected protostars lacking detections longward of 24 $mu$m. Furthermore, with its dynamic range and greater angular resolution, FORCAST may be used to characterize protostars that were either saturated or merged with other sources in previous surveys using the Spitzer Space Telescope or Herschel Space Observatory.
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We present infrared observations of the ultra-compact H II region W3(OH) made by the FORCAST instrument aboard SOFIA and by Spitzer/IRAC. We contribute new wavelength data to the spectral energy distribution, which constrains the optical depth, grain size distribution, and temperature gradient of the dusty shell surrounding the H II region. We model the dust component as a spherical shell containing an inner cavity with radius ~ 600 AU, irradiated by a central star of type O9 and temperature ~ 31,000 K. The total luminosity of this system is 71,000 L_solar. An observed excess of 2.2 - 4.5 microns emission in the SED can be explained by our viewing a cavity opening or clumpiness in the shell structure whereby radiation from the warm interior of the shell can escape. We claim to detect the nearby water maser source W3 (H2O) at 31.4 and 37.1 microns using beam deconvolution of the FORCAST images. We constrain the flux densities of this object at 19.7 - 37.1 microns. Additionally, we present in situ observations of four young stellar and protostellar objects in the SOFIA field, presumably associated with the W3 molecular cloud. Results from the model SED fitting tool of Robitaille et al. (2006, 2007} suggest that two objects (2MASS J02270352+6152357 and 2MASS J02270824+6152281) are intermediate-luminosity (~ 236 - 432 L_solar) protostars; one object (2MASS J02270887+6152344) is either a high-mass protostar with luminosity 3000 L_solar or a less massive young star with a substantial circumstellar disk but depleted envelope; and one object (2MASS J02270743+6152281) is an intermediate-luminosity (~ 768 L_solar) protostar nearing the end of its envelope accretion phase or a young star surrounded by a circumstellar disk with no appreciable circumstellar envelope.
We present 75x75 size maps of M82 at 6.4 micron, 6.6 micron, 7.7 micron, 31.5 micron, and 37.1 micron with a resolution of ~4 that we have obtained with the mid-IR camera FORCAST on SOFIA. We find strong emission from the inner 60 (~1kpc) along the major axis, with the main peak 5 west-southwest of the nucleus and a secondary peak 4 east-northeast of the nucleus. The detailed morphology of the emission differs among the bands, which is likely due to different dust components dominating the continuum emission at short mid-IR wavelengths and long mid-IR wavelengths. We include Spitzer-IRS and Herschel/PACS 70 micron data to fit spectral energy distribution templates at both emission peaks. The best fitting templates have extinctions of A_V = 18 and A_V = 9 toward the main and secondary emission peak and we estimated a color temperature of 68 K at both peaks from the 31 micron and 37 micron measurement. At the emission peaks the estimated dust masses are on the order of 10^{4} M_sun.
In molecular outflows from forming low-mass protostars, most oxygen is expected to be locked up in water. However, Herschel observations have shown that typically an order of magnitude or more of the oxygen is still unaccounted for. To test if the oxygen is instead in atomic form, SOFIA-GREAT observed the R1 position of the bright molecular outflow from NGC1333-IRAS4A. The [OI] 63 um line is detected and spectrally resolved. From an intensity peak at +15 km/s, the intensity decreases until +50 km/s. The profile is similar to that of high-velocity (HV) H2O and CO 16-15, the latter observed simultaneously with [OI]. A radiative transfer analysis suggests that ~15% of the oxygen is in atomic form toward this shock position. The CO abundance is inferred to be ~10^-4 by a similar analysis, suggesting that this is the dominant oxygen carrier in the HV component. These results demonstrate that a large portion of the observed [OI] emission is part of the outflow. Further observations are required to verify whether this is a general trend.
The formation epoch of protostellar disks is debated because of the competing roles of rotation, turbulence, and magnetic fields in the early stages of low-mass star formation. Magnetohydrodynamics simulations of collapsing cores predict that rotationally supported disks may form in strongly magnetized cores through ambipolar diffusion or misalignment between the rotation axis and the magnetic field orientation. Detailed studies of individual sources are needed to cross check the theoretical predictions. We present 0.06-0.1 resolution images at 350 GHz toward B1b-N and B1b-S, which are young class 0 protostars, possibly first hydrostatic cores. The images have been obtained with ALMA, and we compare these data with magnetohydrodynamics simulations of a collapsing turbulent and magnetized core. The submillimeter continuum emission is spatially resolved by ALMA. Compact structures with optically thick 350 GHz emission are detected toward both B1b-N and B1b-S, with 0.2 and 0.35 radii (46 and 80 au at the Perseus distance of 230 pc), within a more extended envelope. The flux ratio between the compact structure and the envelope is lower in B1b-N than in B1b-S, in agreement with its earlier evolutionary status. The size and orientation of the compact structure are consistent with 0.2 resolution 32 GHz observations obtained with the Very Large Array as a part of the VANDAM survey, suggesting that grains have grown through coagulation. The morphology, temperature, and densities of the compact structures are consistent with those of disks formed in numerical simulations of collapsing cores. Moreover, the properties of B1b-N are consistent with those of a very young protostar, possibly a first hydrostatic core. These observations provide support for the early formation of disks around low-mass protostars.
We investigate the possibility of the growth of magnetorotational instability (MRI) in disks around Class 0 protostars. We construct a disk model and calculate the chemical reactions of neutral and charged atoms, molecules and dust grains to derive the abundance of each species and the ionization degree of the disk. Then, we estimate the diffusion coefficients of non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics effects such as ohmic dissipation, ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect. Finally, we evaluate the linear growth rate of MRI in each area of the disk. We investigate the effect of changes in the strength and direction of the magnetic field in our disk model and we adopt four different dust models to investigate the effect of dust size distribution on the diffusion coefficients. Our results indicate that an MRI active region possibly exists with a weak magnetic field in a region far from the protostar where the Hall effect plays a role in the growth of MRI. On the other hand, in all models the disk is stable against MRI in the region within $<20$ au from the protostar on the equatorial plane. Since the size of the disks in the early stage of star formation is limited to $lesssim 10-$$20$ au, it is difficult to develop MRI-driven turbulence in such disks.
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