PROPERTIES OF THE MOLECULAR CORES OF LOW LUMINOSITY OBJECTS
- Institute of Astronomy, National Tsing Hua University (NTHU), Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan (China)
- Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie (MPIfR), Bonn (Germany)
- Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
We present a survey toward 16 low luminosity objects (LLOs with an internal luminosity, L{sub int}, lower than 0.2 L{sub ⊙}) with N{sub 2}H{sup +} (1–0), N{sub 2}H{sup +} (3–2), N{sub 2}D{sup +} (3–2), HCO{sup +} (3–2), and HCN (3–2) using the Arizona Radio Observatory Kitt Peak 12 m Telescope and Submillimeter Telescope. Our goal is to probe the nature of these faint protostars which are believed to be either very low mass or extremely young protostars. We find that the N{sub 2}D{sup +}/N{sub 2}H{sup +} column density ratios of LLOs are similar to those of typical starless cores and Class 0 objects. The N{sub 2}D{sup +}/N{sub 2}H{sup +} column density ratios are relatively high (>0.05) for LLOs with kinetic temperatures less than 10 K in our sample. The distribution of N{sub 2}H{sup +} (1–0) line widths spreads between that of starless cores and young Class 0 objects. If we use the line width as a dynamic evolutionary indicator, LLOs are likely young Class 0 protostellar sources. We further use the optically thick tracers, HCO{sup +} (3–2) and HCN (3–2), to probe the infall signatures of our targets. We derive the asymmetry parameters from both lines and estimate the infall velocities by fitting the HCO{sup +} (3–2) spectra with two-layer models. As a result, we identify eight infall candidates based on the infall velocities and seven candidates have infall signatures supported by asymmetry parameters from at least one of HCO{sup +} (3–2) and HCN (3–2)
- OSTI ID:
- 22522516
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 802, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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