No Arabic abstract
We have carried out polarization calibration for archival JVLA ($sim$9 mm) full polarization observations towards the Class 0 young stellar object (YSO) OMC-3/MMS 6 (also known as HOPS-87), and then compared with the archival ALMA 1.2 mm observations. We found that the innermost $sim$100 au region of OMC-3/MMS 6 is likely very optically thick (e.g., $taugg$1) at $sim$1 mm wavelength such that the dominant polarization mechanism is dichroic extinction. It is marginally optically thin (e.g., $taulesssim$1) at $sim$9 mm wavelength such that the JVLA observations can directly probe the linearly polarized emission from non-spherical dust. Assuming that the projected long axis of dust grains is aligned perpendicular to magnetic field (B-field) lines, we propose that the overall B-field topology resembles an hourglass shape, while this hourglass appears $sim$40$^{circ}$ inclined with respect to the previously reported outflow axis. The geometry of this system is consistent with a magnetically regulated dense (pseudo-)disk. Based on the observed 29.45 GHz flux density and assuming a dust absorption opacity $kappa^{abs}_{29.45,GHz}=$0.0096 cm$^{2} $g$^{-1}$, the derived overall dust mass within a $sim$43 au radius is $sim$14000 $M_{oplus}$. From this case study, it appears to us that some previous 9 mm surveys towards Class 0/I YSOs might have systematically underestimated dust masses by one order of magnitude, owing to that they assumed the too high dust absorption opacity ($sim$0.1 cm$^{2}$ g$^{-1}$) for $sim$9 mm wavelengths but without self-consistently considering the dust scattering opacity.
Using the $approx$15km ALMA long baselines, we imaged the Stokes $I$ emission and linearly polarized intensity ($PI$) in the 1.1-mm continuum band of a very young intermediate-mass protostellar source, MMS 6, in the Orion Molecular Cloud-3. The achieved angular resolution, $0.02{times}0.03$ ($approx$10 AU), shows for the first time a wealth of data on the dust emission polarization in the central 200 AU of a protostar. The $PI$ peak is offset to the south-west (SW) by $approx$20 AU with respect to the Stokes $I$ peak. Its polarization degree is 11 % with its $E$-vector orientation of P.A.${approx}135^{circ}$. A partial ring-like structure with a radius of $approx$80 AU is detected in $PI$ but not in the Stokes $I$. NW (north-west) and SE (south-east) parts of the ring are bright with a high polarization degree of $gtrsim$10 %, and their $E$-vector orientations are roughly orthogonal to those observed near the center. We also detected arm-like polarized structures, extending to 1000 AU scale to the north, with the $E$-vectors aligned along the minor axis of the structures. We explored possible origins of the polarized emission comparing with magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of the toroidal wrapping of the magnetic field. The simulations are consistent with the $PI$ emission in the ring-like and the extended arm-like structures observed with ALMA. However, the current simulations do not completely reproduce observed polarization characteristics in the central 50 AU. Although the self-scattering model can explain the polarization pattern and positional offset between the Stokes $I$ and $PI$, this model is not able to reproduce the observed high degree of polarization.
HH 211-mms is one of the youngest Class 0 protostellar systems in Perseus at ~ 235 pc away. We have mapped its central region at up to ~ 7 AU (0.03) resolution. A dusty disk is seen deeply embedded in a flattened envelope, with an intensity jump in dust continuum at ~ 350 GHz. It is nearly edge-on and is almost exactly perpendicular to the jet axis. It has a size of ~ 30 au along the major axis. It is geometrically thick, indicating that the (sub)millimeter light emitting grains have yet to settle to the midplane. Its inner part is expected to have transformed into a Keplerian rotating disk with a radius of ~ 10 au. A rotating disk atmosphere and a compact rotating bipolar outflow are detected in SO. The outflow fans out from the inner disk surfaces and is rotating in the same direction as the flattened envelope, and hence could trace a disk wind carrying away angular momentum from the inner disk. From the rotation of the disk atmosphere, the protostellar mass is estimated to be <~ 50 M_Jup. Together with results from the literature, our result favors a model where the disk radius grows linearly with the protostellar mass, as predicted by models of pre-stellar dense core evolution that asymptotes to an $r^{-1}$ radial profile for both the column density and angular velocity.
Evaporation of water ice above 100 K in the inner few 100 AU of low-mass embedded protostars (the so-called hot core) should produce quiescent water vapor abundances of ~10^-4 relative to H2. Observational evidence so far points at abundances of only a few 10^-6. However, these values are based on spherical models, which are known from interferometric studies to be inaccurate on the relevant spatial scales. Are hot cores really that much drier than expected, or are the low abundances an artifact of the inaccurate physical models? We present deep velocity-resolved Herschel-HIFI spectra of the 3(12)-3(03) lines of H2-16O and H2-18O (1097 GHz, Eup/k = 249 K) in the low-mass Class 0 protostar NGC1333 IRAS2A. A spherical radiative transfer model with a power-law density profile is unable to reproduce both the HIFI data and existing interferometric data on the H2-18O 3(13)-2(20) line (203 GHz, Eup/k = 204 K). Instead, the HIFI spectra likely show optically thick emission from a hot core with a radius of about 100 AU. The mass of the hot core is estimated from the C18O J=9-8 and 10-9 lines. We derive a lower limit to the hot water abundance of 2x10^-5, consistent with the theoretical predictions of ~10^-4. The revised HDO/H2O abundance ratio is 1x10^-3, an order of magnitude lower than previously estimated.
Both high- and low-velocity outflows are occasionally observed around a protostar by molecular line emission. The high-velocity component is called `Extremely High-Velocity (EHV) flow, while the low-velocity component is simply referred as `(molecular) outflow. This study reports a newly found EHV flow and outflow around MMS $5$ in the Orion Molecular Cloud 3 observed with ALMA. In the observation, CO $J$=2--1 emission traces both the EHV flow ($|v_{rm{LSR}} - v_{rm{sys}}|$ $simeq$ 50--100 $rm{km s^{-1}}$) and outflow ($|v_{rm{LSR}} - v_{rm{sys}}|$ $simeq$ 10--50 $rm{km s^{-1}}$). On the other hand, SiO $J$=5--4 emission only traces the EHV flow. The EHV flow is collimated and located at the root of the V-shaped outflow. The CO outflow extends up to $sim$ 14,000,AU with a position angle (P.A.) of $sim79^circ$ and the CO redshifted EHV flow extends to $sim$11,000 AU with P.A. $sim96^circ$. The EHV flow is smaller than the outflow, and the dynamical timescale of the EHV flow is shorter than that of the outflow by a factor of $sim 3$. The flow driving mechanism is discussed based on the size, time scale, axis difference between the EHV flow and outflow, and the periodicity of the knots. Our results are consistent with the nested wind scenario, although the jet entrainment scenario could not completely be ruled out.
Protoplanetary disks drive some of the formation process (e.g., accretion, gas dissipation, formation of structures, etc.) of stars and planets. Understanding such physical processes is one of the main astrophysical questions. HD 163296 is an interesting young stellar object for which infrared and sub-millimeter observations have shown a prominent circumstellar disk with gaps plausibly created by forming planets. This study aims at characterizing the morphology of the inner disk in HD 163296 with multi-epoch near-infrared interferometric observations performed with GRAVITY at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). Our goal is to depict the K-band (lambda_0 ~ 2.2 um) structure of the inner rim with milliarcsecond (sub-au) angular resolution. Our data is complemented with archival PIONIER (H-band; lambda_0 ~ 1.65 um) data of the source. We performed a Gradient Descent parametric model fitting to recover the sub-au morphology of our source. Our analysis shows the existence of an asymmetry in the disk surrounding the central star of HD 163296. We confirm variability of the disk structure in the inner ~2 mas (0.2 au). While variability of the inner disk structure in this source has been suggested by previous interferometric studies, this is the first time that it is confirmed in the H- and K-bands by using a complete analysis of the closure phases and squared visibilities over several epochs. Because of the separation from the star, position changes, and persistence of this asymmetric structure on timescales of several years, we argue that it is a dusty feature (e.g., a vortex or dust clouds), probably, made by a mixing of sillicate and carbon dust and/or refractory grains, inhomogeneously distributed above the mid-plane of the disk.