Lonely Cores: Star Formation in Isolation

Details Lonely Cores: Star Formation in Isolation Lonely Cores: Star Formation in Isolation

Mar 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008sptz.prop50477b&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #50477

Physics

Scientific paper

The standard model of low mass star formation was developed and has evolved through detailed studies of relatively isolated cores and protostars. They are still the best places in which to study the star formation process in detail, as they are nearby and free of the confusing effects of star formation in large molecular clouds and clusters. Many details are still unclear however, and studies of a large ensemble of cores at different evolutionary stages in different environments are needed to address the following outstanding questions: (1) What are the relative numbers of cores at the different evolutionary stages, and so what are their lifetimes? (2) How does the physical structure of a core evolve? (3) How does the evolution of cores to protostars and the efficiency of star formation depend on environment? (4) When do cores form protostars? (5) How do core luminosities and spectral energy distributions (SEDs) change as a function of evolutionary state? All of these issues arise from the key question in star formation: how do dense cores evolve to form stars? These questions can be directly addressed by a combination of existing and new Spitzer observations. Spitzer has observed a number of nearby dense relatively isolated cores as part of c2d and GTO programs. The existing data however do not allow for is a systematic study of the entire star formation process, as it is biased against the youngest, low density cores, and completely isolated cores, and so does not probe the earliest stages of star formation, nor the effects of environment. We propose to double the sample of isolated low-mass cores observed with Spitzer with the additional sample selected in such a way as to remove these biases. We will determine their structure through extinction mapping with IRAC (combined with K-band observations), and their protostellar content or lack thereof with sensitive MIPS observations. Our proposed observations will provide much needed insight into the low-mass star formation process.

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