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Register a new userThe young stellar population in the Serpens Cloud Core: An ISOCAM survey
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Anlaug Amanda Djupvik
Publication date
2004
fields
Physics
and research's language is
English
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We present results from an ISOCAM survey in the two broad band filters LW2 (5-8.5 mu) and LW3 (12-18 mu) of a 0.13 square degree coverage of the Serpens Main Cloud Core. A total of 392 sources were detected in the 6.7 mu band and 139 in the 14.3 mu band to a limiting sensitivity of ~ 2 mJy. Only about 50% of the mid-IR excess sources show excesses in the near-IR J-H/H-K diagram. In the central Cloud Core the Class I/Class II number ratio is 19/18, i.e. about 10 times larger than in other young embedded clusters such as rho Ophiuchi or Chamaeleon. The mid-IR fluxes of the Class I and flat-spectrum sources are found to be on the average larger than those of Class II sources. Stellar luminosities are estimated for the Class II sample, and its luminosity function is compatible with a coeval population of about 2 Myr which follows a three segment power-law IMF. For this age about 20% of the Class IIs are found to be young brown dwarf candidates. The YSOs are in general strongly clustered, the Class I sources more than the Class II sources, and there is an indication of sub-clustering. The sub-clustering of the protostar candidates has a spatial scale of 0.12 pc. These sub-clusters are found along the NW-SE oriented ridge and in very good agreement with the location of dense cores traced by millimeter data. The smallest clustering scale for the Class II sources is about 0.25 pc, similar to what was found for rho Ophiuchi. Our data show evidence that star formation in Serpens has proceeded in several phases, and that a ``microburst of star formation has taken place very recently, probably within the last 10^5 yrs.
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We present Spitzer and Chandra observations of the nearby (~260 pc) embedded stellar cluster in the Serpens Cloud Core. We observed, using Spitzers IRAC and MIPS instruments, in six wavelength bands from 3 to 70 ${mu}m$, to detect thermal emission from circumstellar disks and protostellar envelopes, and to classify stars using color-color diagrams and spectral energy distributions (SEDs). These data are combined with Chandra observations to examine the effects of circumstellar disks on stellar X-ray properties. Young diskless stars were also identified from their increased X-ray emission. We have identified 138 YSOs in Serpens: 22 class 0/I, 16 flat spectrum, 62 class II, 17 transition disk, and 21 class III stars; 60 of which exhibit X-ray emission. Our primary results are the following: 1.) ten protostars detected previously in the sub-millimeter are detected at lambda < 24 microns, seven at lambda < 8 microns, 2.) the protostars are more closely grouped than more evolved YSOs (median separation : ~0.024 pc, and 3.) the luminosity and temperature of the X-ray emitting plasma around these YSOs does not show any significant dependence on evolutionary class. We combine the infrared derived values of AK and X-ray values of NH for 8 class III objects and find that the column density of hydrogen gas per mag of extinctions is less than half the standard interstellar value, for AK > 1. This may be the result of grain growth through coagulation and/or the accretion of volatiles in the Serpens cloud core.
We report on the results of an optical spectroscopic survey designed to confirm the youth and determine the spectral types among a sample of young stellar object (YSO) candidates in the Serpens Molecular Cloud. We observed 150 infrared excess objects, previously discovered by the Spitzer Legacy Program From Molecular Cores to Planet-Forming Disks (c2d), bright enough for subsequent Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy. We obtained 78 optical spectra of sufficient S/N for analysis. Extinctions, effective temperatures and luminosities are estimated for this sample, and used to construct H-R diagrams for the population. We identified 20 background giants contaminating the sample, based on their relatively high extinction, position in the H-R diagram, the lack of Halpha emission and relatively low infrared excess. Such strong background contamination (25%) is consistent with the location of Serpens being close to the Galactic plane (5degrees Galactic latitude). The remaining 58 stars (75%) were all confirmed to be young, mostly K and M-type stars that are presumed to belong to the cloud. Individual ages and masses for the YSOs are inferred based on theoretical evolutionary models. The models indicate a spread in stellar ages from 1 to 15 Myr, peaking at 2 - 6 Myr, and a mass distribution of 0.2 to 1.2 Msun with median value around 0.8 Msun. Strong H emission lines (EW[Halpha] > 3 A) have been detected in more than half of the sample (35 stars). The mass accretion rates as derived from the H line widths span a broad distribution over 4 orders of magnitude with median accretion rate of 10^-8 Msun/yr. Our analysis shows that the majority of the infrared excess objects detected in Serpens are actively accreting, young T-Tauri stars.
We present spectral observations of 130 young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Serpens Cloud Core and NGC 1333 embedded clusters. The observations consist of near-IR spectra in the H and K-bands, from SpeX on the IRTF and far-red spectra (6000 - 9000 A) from Hectospec on the MMT. These YSOs were identified in previous Spitzer and Chandra observations, and the evolutionary classes of the YSOs were determined from the Spitzer mid-IR photometry. With these spectra, we search for corroborating evidence for the pre-main sequence nature of the objects, study the properties of the detected emission lines as a function of evolutionary class, and obtain spectral types for the observed YSOs. By comparing the positions of the YSOs in the HR diagrams with the pre-main sequence tracks of Baraffe (1998), we determine ages of the embedded sources and study the relative ages of the YSOs with and without optically thick circumstellar disks. The apparent isochronal ages of the YSOs in both clusters range from less than 1 Myr to 10 Myr, with most objects below 3 Myr. The observed distribution of ages for the Class II and Class III objects are statistically indistinguishable. We examine the spatial distribution and extinction of the YSOs as a function of their isochronal ages. We find the sources < 3 Myr to be concentrated in the molecular cloud gas while the older sources are spatially dispersed and are not deeply embedded. Nonetheless, the sources with isochronal ages > 3 Myr show all the characteristics of young stellar objects in their spectra, their IR spectral energy distributions, and their X-ray emission.
We present the results of a mid-infrared (7 micron) imaging survey of a sample of 24 starless dense cores carried out at an angular resolution of 6 arcsec with the ISOCAM camera aboard the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). The targeted cores are believed to be pre-stellar in nature and to represent the initial conditions of low-mass, isolated star formation. In previous submillimeter dust continuum studies of such pre-stellar cores, it was found that the derived column density profiles did not follow a single power-law such as N[H2] propto r^(-1) throughout their full extent but flattened out near their center. These submillimeter observations however could not constrain the density profiles at radii greater than ~ 10000 AU. The present absorption study uses ISOCAMs sensitivity to map these pre-stellar cores in absorption against the diffuse mid-infrared background. The goal was to determine their structure at radii that extend beyond the limits of sensitivity of the submillimeter continuum maps and at twiceas good an angular resolution. Among the 24 cores observed in our survey, a majority of them show deep absorption features. The starless cores studied here all show a column density profile that flattens in the center, which confirms the submillimeter emission results. Moreover, beyond a radius of ~ 5000-10000 AU, the typical column density profile steepens with distance from core center and gets steeper than N[H2] propto r^(-1), until it eventually merges with the low-density ambient molecular cloud. At least three of the cores present sharp edges at R ~ 15000-30000 AU and appear to be decoupled from their parent clouds, providing finite reservoirs of mass for subsequent star formation.
We present the results of the SDSS APOGEE INfrared Spectroscopy of Young Nebulous Clusters program (IN-SYNC) survey of the Orion A molecular cloud. This survey obtained high resolution near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy of about 2700 young pre-main sequence stars throughout the region, acquired across five distinct fields spanning 6deg field of view (FOV). With these spectra, we have measured accurate stellar parameters (T_eff, log g, v sin i) and extinctions, and placed the sources in the Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram (HRD). We have also extracted radial velocities for the kinematic characterization of the population. We compare our measurements with literature results for a sub-sample of targets in order to assess the performances and accuracy of the survey. Source extinction shows evidence for dust grains that are larger than those in the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM): we estimate an average R_V=5.5 in the region. Importantly, we find a clear correlation between HRD inferred ages and spectroscopic surface-gravity inferred ages. This clearly indicates a real spread of stellar radii at fixed temperature, and together with additional correlations with extinction and with disk presence, strongly suggests a real spread of ages large than a few Myr. Focussing on the young population around NGC1980 iota Ori, which has previously been suggested to be a separate, foreground, older cluster, we confirm its older (5Myr) age and low A_V, but considering that its radial velocity distribution is indistinguishable from the Orion As population, we suggest that NGC1980 is part of Orion As star formation activity. Based on their stellar parameters and kinematic properties, we identify 383 new candidate members of Orion A, most of which are diskless sources in areas of the region poorly studied by previous works.
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