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We present ALMA (0.87~mm and 1.3~mm) and VLA (9~mm) observations toward the candidate intermediate-mass protostar OMC2-FIR3 (HOPS-370; L$_{bol}$~314~L$_{odot}$) at $sim$0.1 (40~au) resolution for the continuum emission and ~0.25 (100 au) resolution of nine molecular lines. The dust continuum observed with ALMA at 0.87~mm and 1.3~mm resolve a near edge-on disk toward HOPS-370 with an apparent radius of ~100 au. The VLA observations detect both the disk in dust continuum and free-free emission extended along the jet direction. The ALMA observations of molecular lines (H$_2$CO, SO, CH$_3$OH, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O, NS, and H$^{13}$CN) reveal rotation of the apparent disk surrounding HOPS-370 orthogonal to the jet/outflow direction. We fit radiative transfer models to both the dust continuum structure of the disk and molecular line kinematics of the inner envelope and disk for the H$_2$CO, CH$_3$OH, NS, and SO lines. The central protostar mass is determined to be $sim$2.5 M_sun with a disk radius of $sim$94~au, when fit using combinations of the H$_2$CO, CH$_3$OH, NS, and SO lines, consistent with an intermediate-mass protostar. Modeling of the dust continuum and spectral energy distribution (SED) yields a disk mass of 0.035~M$_{odot}$ (inferred dust+gas) and a dust disk radius of 62~au, thus the dust disk may have a smaller radius than the gas disk, similar to Class II disks. In order to explain the observed luminosity with the measured protostar mass, HOPS-370 must be accreting at a rate between 1.7 and 3.2$times$10$^{-5}$~M$_{odot}$~yr$^{-1}$.
We present ALMA (0.87~mm) and VLA (9~mm) observations toward OMC2-FIR4 and OMC2-FIR3 within the Orion integral-shaped filament that are thought to be the nearest regions of intermediate mass star formation. We characterize the continuum sources within these regions on $sim$40~AU (0farcs1) scales and associated molecular line emission at a factor of $sim$30 better resolution than previous observations at similar wavelengths. We identify six compact continuum sources within OMC2-FIR4, four in OMC2-FIR3, and one additional source just outside OMC2-FIR4. This continuum emission is tracing the inner envelope and/or disk emission on less than 100~AU scales. HOPS-108 is the only protostar in OMC2-FIR4 that exhibits emission from high-excitation transitions of complex organic molecules (e.g., methanol and other lines) coincident with the continuum emission. HOPS-370 in OMC2-FIR3 with L~$sim$~360~lsun, also exhibits emission from high-excitation methanol and other lines. The methanol emission toward these two protostars is indicative of temperatures high enough to thermally evaporate methanol from icy dust grains; overall these protostars have characteristics similar to hot corinos. We do not identify a clear outflow from HOPS-108 in twco, but find evidence of interaction between the outflow/jet from HOPS-370 and the OMC2-FIR4 region. The multitude of observational constraints indicate that HOPS-108 is likely a low to intermediate-mass protostar in its main mass accretion phase and it is the most luminous protostar in OMC2-FIR4. The high resolution data presented here are essential for disentangling the embedded protostars from their surrounding dusty environments and characterizing them.
We have conducted a survey of 328 protostars in the Orion molecular clouds with ALMA at 0.87 mm at a resolution of $sim$0.1 (40 au), including observations with the VLA at 9 mm toward 148 protostars at a resolution of $sim$0.08 (32 au). This is the largest multi-wavelength survey of protostars at this resolution by an order of magnitude. We use the dust continuum emission at 0.87 mm and 9 mm to measure the dust disk radii and masses toward the Class 0, Class I, and Flat Spectrum protostars, characterizing the evolution of these disk properties in the protostellar phase. The mean dust disk radii for the Class 0, Class I, and Flat Spectrum protostars are 44.9$^{+5.8}_{-3.4}$, 37.0$^{+4.9}_{-3.0}$, and 28.5$^{+3.7}_{-2.3}$ au, respectively, and the mean protostellar dust disk masses are 25.9$^{+7.7}_{-4.0}$, 14.9$^{+3.8}_{-2.2}$, 11.6$^{+3.5}_{-1.9}$ Earth masses, respectively. The decrease in dust disk masses is expected from disk evolution and accretion, but the decrease in disk radii may point to the initial conditions of star formation not leading to the systematic growth of disk radii or that radial drift is keeping the dust disk sizes small. At least 146 protostellar disks (35% out of 379 detected 0.87 mm continuum sources plus 42 non-detections) have disk radii greater than 50 au in our sample. These properties are not found to vary significantly between different regions within Orion. The protostellar dust disk mass distributions are systematically larger than that of Class II disks by a factor of $>$4, providing evidence that the cores of giant planets may need to at least begin their formation during the protostellar phase.
We present a multiplicity study of all known protostars (94) in the Perseus molecular cloud from a Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) survey at Ka-band (8 mm and 1 cm) and C-band (4 cm and 6.6 cm). The observed sample has a bolometric luminosity range between 0.1 L$_{odot}$ and $sim$33 L$_{odot}$, with a median of 0.7 L$_{odot}$. This multiplicity study is based on the Ka-band data, having a best resolution of $sim$0.065 (15 AU) and separations out to $sim$43 (10000 AU) can be probed. The overall multiplicity fraction (MF) is found to be of 0.40$pm$0.06 and the companion star fraction (CSF) is 0.71$pm$0.06. The MF and CSF of the Class 0 protostars are 0.57$pm$0.09 and 1.2$pm$0.2, and the MF and CSF of Class I protostars are both 0.23$pm$0.08. The distribution of companion separations appears bi-modal, with a peak at $sim$75 AU and another peak at $sim$3000 AU. Turbulent fragmentation is likely the dominant mechanism on $>$1000 AU scales and disk fragmentation is likely to be the dominant mechanism on $<$200 AU scales. Toward three Class 0 sources we find companions separated by $<$30 AU. These systems have the smallest separations of currently known Class 0 protostellar binary systems. Moreover, these close systems are embedded within larger (50 AU to 400 AU) structures and may be candidates for ongoing disk fragmentation.
We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of multiple protostar systems in the Perseus molecular cloud previously detected by the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). We observed 17 close ($<$600~AU separation) multiple systems at 1.3~mm in continuum and five molecular lines (i.e., twco, cateo, thco, H$_2$CO, SO) to characterize the circum-multiple environments in which these systems are forming. We detect at least one component in the continuum for the 17 multiple systems. In three systems, one companion is not detected, and for two systems the companions are unresolved at our observed resolution. We also detect circum-multiple dust emission toward 8 out of 9 Class 0 multiples. Circum-multiple dust emission is not detected toward any of the 8 Class I multiples. Twelve systems are detected in the dense gas tracers toward their disks/inner envelopes. For these 12 systems, we use the dense gas observations to characterize their formation mechanism. The velocity gradients in the circum-multiple gas are clearly orthogonal to the outflow directions in 8 out of the 12 systems, consistent with disk fragmentation. Moreover, only two systems with separations $<$200~AU are textit{inconsistent} with disk fragmentation, in addition to the two widest systems ($>$500~AU). Our results suggest that disk fragmentation via gravitational instability is an important formation mechanism for close multiple systems, but further statistics are needed to better determine the relative fraction formed via this method.
There is substantial evidence for disk formation taking place during the early stages of star formation and for most stars being born in multiple systems; however, protostellar multiplicity and disk searches have been hampered by low resolution, sample bias, and variable sensitivity. We have conducted an unbiased, high-sensitivity Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) survey toward all known protostars (n = 94) in the Perseus molecular cloud (d~230 pc), with a resolution of ~15 AU (0.06) at 8 mm. We have detected candidate protostellar disks toward 17 sources (with 12 of those in the Class 0 stage) and we have found substructure on < 50AU scales for three Class 0 disk candidates, possibly evidence for disk fragmentation. We have discovered 16 new multiple systems (or new components) in this survey; the new systems have separations < 500 AU and 3 by < 30 AU. We also found a bi-modal distribution of separations, with peaks at ~75 AU and ~3000 AU, suggestive of formation through two distinct mechanisms: disk and turbulent fragmentation. The results from this survey demonstrate the necessity and utility of uniform, unbiased surveys of protostellar systems at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths.