paper

Complex Structure in Class 0 Protostellar Envelopes II: Kinematic Structure from Single-Dish and Interferometric Molecular Line Mapping

arXiv:1107.4361 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/740/1/45

Abstract

We present a study of dense molecular gas kinematics in seventeen nearby protostellar systems using single-dish and interferometric molecular line observations. The non-axisymmetric envelopes around a sample of Class 0/I protostars were mapped in the N2H+ (J=1-0) tracer with the IRAM 30m, CARMA and PdBI as well as NH3 (1,1) with the VLA. The molecular line emission is used to construct line-center velocity and linewidth maps for all sources to examine the kinematic structure in the envelopes on spatial scales from 0.1 pc to ~1000 AU. The direction of the large-scale velocity gradients from single-dish mapping is within 45 degrees of normal to the outflow axis in more than half the sample. Furthermore, the velocity gradients are often quite substantial, the average being ~2.3 km\s\pc. The interferometric data often reveal small-scale velocity structure, departing from the more gradual large-scale velocity gradients. In some cases, this likely indicates accelerating infall and/or rotational spin-up in the inner envelope; the median velocity gradient from the interferometric data is ~10.7 km/s/pc. In two systems, we detect high-velocity HCO+ (J=1-0) emission inside the highest-velocity \nthp\ emission. This enables us to study the infall and rotation close to the disk and estimate the central object masses. The velocity fields observed on large and small-scales are more complex than would be expected from rotation alone, suggesting that complex envelope structure enables other dynamical processes (i.e. infall) to affect the velocity field.

85 Pages, 31 Figures, 11 Tables, Accepted to ApJS

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