No Arabic abstract
We present CARMA CO (J=1-0) observations and Herschel PACS spectroscopy, characterizing the outflow properties toward extremely young and deeply embedded protostars in the Orion molecular clouds. The sample comprises a subset of the Orion protostars known as the PACS Bright Red Sources (PBRS) (Stutz et al. 2013). We observed 14 PBRS with CARMA and 8 of these 14 with Herschel, acquiring full spectral scans from 55 micron to 200 micron. Outflows are detected in CO (J=1-0) from 8 of 14 PBRS, with two additional tentative detections; outflows are also detected from the outbursting protostar HOPS 223 (V2775 Ori) and the Class I protostar HOPS 68. The outflows have a range of morphologies, some are spatially compact, <10000 AU in extent, while others extend beyond the primary beam. The outflow velocities and morphologies are consistent with being dominated by intermediate inclination angles (80 deg > i > 20 deg). This confirms the interpretation of the very red 24 micron to 70 micron colors of the PBRS as a signpost of high envelope densities, with only one (possibly two) cases of the red colors resulting from edge-on inclinations. We detect high-J (J_up > 13) CO lines and/or H_2O lines from 5 of 8 PBRS and only for those with detected CO outflows. The far-infrared CO rotation temperatures of the detected PBRS are marginally colder (~230 K) than those observed for most protostars (~300 K), and only one of these 5 PBRS has detected [OI] 63 micron emission. The high envelope densities could be obscuring some [OI] emission and cause a ~20 K reduction to the CO rotation temperatures.
We present CARMA 2.9 mm dust continuum emission observations of a sample of 14 Herschel-detected Class 0 protostars in the Orion A and B molecular clouds, drawn from the PACS Bright Red Sources (PBRS) sample (Stutz et al.). These objects are characterized by very red 24 micron to 70 micron colors and prominent submillimeter emission, suggesting that they are very young Class 0 protostars embedded in dense envelopes. We detect all of the PBRS in 2.9 mm continuum emission and emission from 4 protostars and 1 starless core in the fields toward the PBRS; we also report 1 new PBRS source. The ratio of 2.9 mm luminosity to bolometric luminosity is higher by a factor of $sim$5 on average, compared to other well-studied protostars in the Perseus and Ophiuchus clouds. The 2.9 mm visibility amplitudes for 6 of the 14 PBRS are very flat as a function of uv-distance, with more than 50% of the source emission arising from radii $<$ 1500 AU. These flat visibility amplitudes are most consistent with spherically symmetric envelope density profiles with $rho$~$propto$~R$^{-2.5}$. Alternatively, there could be a massive unresolved structure like a disk or a high-density inner envelope departing from a smooth power-law. The large amount of mass on scales $<$ 1500 AU (implying high average central densities) leads us to suggest that that the PBRS with flat visibility amplitude profiles are the youngest PBRS and may be undergoing a brief phase of high mass infall/accretion and are possibly among the youngest Class 0 protostars. The PBRS with more rapidly declining visibility amplitudes still have large envelope masses, but could be slightly more evolved.
We investigate the evolution of far-IR CO emission from protostars observed with Herschel/PACS for 50 sources from the combined sample of HOPS and DIGIT Herschel key programs. From the uniformly sampled spectral energy distributions, we computed $L_{rm{bol}}$, $T_{rm{bol}}$ and $L_{rm {bol}}/L_{rm {smm}}$ for these sources to search for correlations between far-IR CO emission and protostellar properties. We find a strong and tight correlation between far-IR CO luminosity ($L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$) and the bolometric luminosity ($L_{rm{bol}}$) of the protostars with $L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$ $propto$ $L_{rm{bol}}^{0.7}$. We, however, do not find a strong correlation between $L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$ and protostellar evolutionary indicators, $T_{rm{bol}}$ and $L_{rm {bol}}/L_{rm {smm}}$. FIR CO emission from protostars traces the currently shocked gas by jets/outflows, and $L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$ is proportional to the instantaneous mass loss rate, $dot{M}_{rm{out}}$. The correlation between $L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$ and $L_{rm{bol}}$ is indicative of instantaneous $dot{M}_{rm{out}}$ tracking instantaneous $dot{M}_{rm{acc}}$. The lack of correlation between $L^{rm fir}_{rm CO}$ and evolutionary indicators $T_{rm{bol}}$ and $L_{rm {bol}}/L_{rm {smm}}$ suggests that $dot{M}_{rm{out}}$ and, therefore, $dot{M}_{rm{acc}}$ do not show any clear evolutionary trend. These results are consistent with mass accretion/ejection in protostars being episodic. Taken together with the previous finding that the time-averaged mass ejection/accretion rate declines during the protostellar phase (e.g., Bontemps et al. 1996), our results suggest that the instantaneous accretion/ejection rate of protostars is highly time variable and episodic, but the amplitude and/or frequency of this variability decreases with time such that the time averaged accretion/ejection rate declines with system age.
The degree to which the properties of protostars are affected by environment remains an open question. To investigate this, we look at the Orion A and B molecular clouds, home to most of the protostars within 500 pc. At ~400 pc, Orion is close enough to distinguish individual protostars across a range of environments in terms of both the stellar and gas projected densities. As part of the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey (HOPS), we used the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) to map 108 partially overlapping square fields with edge lengths of 5 arcmin or 8 arcmin and measure the 70 micron and 160 micron flux densities of 338 protostars within them. In this paper we examine how these flux densities and their ratio depend on evolutionary state and environment within the Orion complex. We show that Class 0 protostars occupy a region of the 70 micron flux density versus 160 micron to 70 micron flux density ratio diagram that is distinct from their more evolved counterparts. We then present evidence that the Integral-Shaped Filament (ISF) and Orion B contain protostars with more massive envelopes than those in the more sparsely populated LDN 1641 region. This can be interpreted as evidence for increasing star formation rates in the ISF and Orion B or as a tendency for more massive envelopes to be inherited from denser birth environments. We also provide technical details about the map-making and photometric procedures used in the HOPS program.
The Carina Nebula represents one of the largest and most active star forming regions known in our Galaxy with numerous very massive stars.Our recently obtained Herschel PACS & SPIRE far-infrared maps cover the full area (about 8.7 deg^2) of the Carina Nebula complex and reveal the population of deeply embedded young stellar objects, most of which are not yet visible in the mid- or near-infrared.We study the properties of the 642 objects that are independently detected as point-like sources in at least two of the five Herschel bands.For those objects that can be identified with apparently single Spitzer counterparts, we use radiative transfer models to derive information about the basic stellar and circumstellar parameters.We find that about 75% of the Herschel-detected YSOs are Class 0 protostars.The luminosities of the Herschel-detected YSOs with SED fits are restricted to values of <=5400 Lsun, their masses (estimated from the radiative transfer modeling) range from about 1 Msun to 10 Msun.Taking the observational limits into account and extrapolating the observed number of Herschel-detected protostars over the IMF suggest that the star formation rate of the CNC is about 0.017 Msun/yr.The spatial distribution of the Herschel YSO candidates is highly inhomogeneous and does not follow the distribution of cloud mass.Most Herschel YSO candidates are found at the irradiated edges of clouds and pillars.This provides support to the picture that the formation of this latest stellar generation is triggered by the advancing ionization fronts.The currently ongoing star formation process forms only low-mass and intermediate-mass stars, but no massive stars.The far-infrared fluxes of the famous object EtaCar are about a factor of two lower than expected from observations with the ISO obtained 15 years ago; this may be due to dynamical changes in the circumstellar dust in the Homunculus Nebula.
The evolved massive binary star Eta Carinae underwent eruptive mass loss events that formed the complex bi-polar Homunculus nebula harboring tens of solar masses of unusually nitrogen-rich gas and dust. Despite expectations for the presence of a significant molecular component to the gas, detections have been observationally challenged by limited access to the far-infrared and the intense thermal continuum. A spectral survey of the atomic and rotational molecular transitions was carried out with the Herschel Space Observatory, revealing a rich spectrum of broad emission lines originating in the ejecta. Velocity profiles of selected PACS lines correlate well with known substructures: H I in the central core; NH and weak [C II] within the Homunculus; and [N II] emissions in fast-moving structures external to the Homunculus. We have identified transitions from [O I], H I, and 18 separate light C- and O-bearing molecules including CO, CH, CH+, and OH, and a wide set of N-bearing molecules, NH, NH+, N2H+, NH2, NH3, HCN, HNC, CN, and N2H+. Half of these are new detections unprecedented for any early-type massive star environment. A very low ratio [12C/13C] LE 4 is estimated from five molecules and their isotopologues. We demonstrate that non-LTE effects due to the strong continuum are significant. Abundance patterns are consistent with line formation in regions of carbon and oxygen depletions with nitrogen enhancements, reflecting an evolved state of the erupting star with efficient transport of CNO-processed material to the outer layers. The results offer many opportunities for further observational and theoretical investigations of the molecular chemistry under extreme physical and chemical conditions around massive stars in their final stages of evolution.