An Observational View of Structure in Protostellar Systems

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Tobin, John J., Sheehan, Patrick D.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Tobin, John J.
Sheehan, Patrick D.
author_facet Tobin, John J.
Sheehan, Patrick D.
contents The envelopes and disks that surround protostars reflect the initial conditions of star and planet formation and govern the assembly of stellar masses. Characterizing these structures requires observations that span the near-infrared to centimeter wavelengths. Consequently, the past two decades have seen progress driven by numerous advances in observational facilities across this spectrum, including the \textit{Spitzer Space Telescope}, \textit{Herschel Space Observatory}, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and a host of other ground-based interferometers and single-dish radio telescopes. Nearly all protostars appear to have well-formed circumstellar disks that are likely to be rotationally-supported; the ability to detect a disk around a protostar is more a question of spatial resolution than whether or not a disk is present. The disks around protostars have inherently higher millimeter/submillimeter luminosities as compared to disks around more-evolved pre-main sequence stars, though there may be systematic variations between star forming regions. The envelopes around protostars are inherently asymmetric and streamers emphasize that mass flow through the envelopes to the disks may not be homogeneous. The current mass distribution of protostars may be impacted by selection bias given that it is skewed toward solar-mass protostars, inconsistent with the stellar initial mass function.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2403_15550
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An Observational View of Structure in Protostellar Systems
Tobin, John J.
Sheehan, Patrick D.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The envelopes and disks that surround protostars reflect the initial conditions of star and planet formation and govern the assembly of stellar masses. Characterizing these structures requires observations that span the near-infrared to centimeter wavelengths. Consequently, the past two decades have seen progress driven by numerous advances in observational facilities across this spectrum, including the \textit{Spitzer Space Telescope}, \textit{Herschel Space Observatory}, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, and a host of other ground-based interferometers and single-dish radio telescopes. Nearly all protostars appear to have well-formed circumstellar disks that are likely to be rotationally-supported; the ability to detect a disk around a protostar is more a question of spatial resolution than whether or not a disk is present. The disks around protostars have inherently higher millimeter/submillimeter luminosities as compared to disks around more-evolved pre-main sequence stars, though there may be systematic variations between star forming regions. The envelopes around protostars are inherently asymmetric and streamers emphasize that mass flow through the envelopes to the disks may not be homogeneous. The current mass distribution of protostars may be impacted by selection bias given that it is skewed toward solar-mass protostars, inconsistent with the stellar initial mass function.
title An Observational View of Structure in Protostellar Systems
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.15550