An updated modular set of synthetic spectral energy distributions for young stellar objects

Abstract

Measured properties of young stellar objects (YSOs) are key tools for research into pre-main-sequence stellar evolution. YSO properties are commonly measured by comparing observed radiation to existing grids of template YSO spectral energy distributions (SEDs) calculated by radiative transfer. These grids are often sampled and constructed using simple models of mass assembly/accretion over time. However, because we do not yet have a complete theory of star formation, the choice of model sets the tracked parameters and range of allowed values. By construction, then, the assumed model limits the measurements that can be made using the grid. Radiative transfer models not constrained by specific accretion histories would enable assessment of a wider range of theories. We present an updated version of the Robitaille (2017) set of YSO SEDs, a collection of models with no assumed evolutionary theory. We outline our newly calculated properties: envelope mass, weighted-average dust temperature, disk stability, and circumstellar $A_{\mathrm{V}}$. We also convolve the SEDs with new filters, including JWST, and provide users the ability to perform additional convolutions. We find a correlation between the average temperature and millimeter-wavelength brightness of optically thin dust in our models and discuss its ramifications for mass measurements of pre- and protostellar cores. We also compare the positions of YSOs of different observational classes and evolutionary stages in IR color space and use our models to quantify the extent to which class and stage may be confused due to observational effects. Our updated models are released to the public.

39 pages, 20 figures (includes appendix: 8 pages, 8 figures). To be published in ApJ. Models available at https://zenodo.org/records/10522816 (companion models for Robitaille (2017) available at https://zenodo.org/records/166732)

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• Externally irradiated young stars in NGC 3603. A JWST NIRSpec catalogue of pre-main-sequence stars in a massive star formation region
• Photometric Mapping of Carbonaceous/Siliceous Dust and Water Ice in the ISM with JWST: Applications to the Dense Sightlines
• A framework for modeling the evolution of young stellar objects
• Evidence of triggered star formation in the Pillars of Creation from JWST observations