A Search for Evidence of Episodic Mass Accretion: IRS and MIPS SED Mode Observations of 21 Low-Luminosity, Embedded Protostars

Details A Search for Evidence of Episodic Mass Accretion: IRS and MIPS SED Mode Observations of 21 Low-Luminosity, Embedded Protostars A Search for Evidence of Episodic Mass Accretion: IRS and MIPS SED Mode Observations of 21 Low-Luminosity, Embedded Protostars

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50295d&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50295

Computer Science

Scientific paper

The Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Project 'From Molecular Cores to Planet Forming Disks' (c2d) has completed a 3.6 - 160 micron imaging survey of nearby, low-mass star forming regions. Approximately 50 embedded protostars with luminosities less than 1 solar luminosity have been identified, many of which were not known based on previous lower-sensitivity, lower-resolution surveys (e.g., IRAS). They are difficult to understand in the standard model of star formation, which predicts higher luminosities than observed for these objects. One proposed solution to this problem is that matter accretes from the envelope at a more or less uniform rate, but is stored in the disk for a period of time before accreting onto the star in a short-lived burst. If this process of episodic accretion occurs, the short-lived bursts will heat the surrounding envelope and leave imprints in its chemistry long after the burst ends and the source luminosity and envelope temperature drop. In particular, they will create a component of pure CO2 ice in an irreversible process; this component can be identified through high-resolution Spitzer-IRS observations. We propose to obtain a complete data set of IRS SH, IRS LL1, and MIPS SED mode spectra for 21 objects with luminosities below 1 Lsun. These data will enable us to search for a component of pure CO2 ice in the 15.2 micron CO2 absorption feature, which previous work on higher luminosity (1-10 solar luminosities) sources has already proven to be feasible. We will also obtain accurate constraints on current source luminosities and envelope temperature structures, obtained through models constrained by the IRS and MIPS SED spectra. Combining these studies will allow us to obtain an unambiguous answer to the question of whether or not these sources have featured past accretion bursts.

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