ALMA Band 9 CO(6--5) Reveals a Warm Ring Structure Associated with the Embedded Protostar in the Cold Dense Core MC 27/L1521F

Abstract

Infall and outflows, coupled with magnetic fields, rapidly structure the gas around newborn protostars. Shocks from interacting components encode the temperature and density distribution, offering a direct probe of the earliest evolution history. However, interferometric observations characterizing warm envelopes using high-excitation lines remain scarce. We present ALMA Band 9 observations of the Taurus dense core MC 27/L1521F, which hosts a Class 0 protostar, targeting the CO($J$=6-5) line at an angular resolution of $\sim$2\arcsec\ ($\approx$300 au). We detect an off-centered ring-like structure with a diameter of $\sim$1000 au that was not identifiable in previous low-$J$ CO data, where emission close to the systemic velocity is strongly affected by optical depth. The ring shows a typical peak brightness temperature of $\sim$3 K at our resolution. Excitation considerations indicate that the detected CO($J$=6-5) emission likely arises from relatively warm ($T\gtrsim 20$ K) and dense ($n({\mathrm{H}}_2)\gtrsim 10^5$ cm${}^{-3}$) gas embedded within the surrounding cold, dense core. The morphology and kinematics suggest an energetic and localized shock-heating event, potentially linked to dynamical gas--magnetic-field interactions in the earliest protostellar phase. Our results demonstrate that high-$J$ CO observations provide a powerful new window on warm and dense gas components, enabling a more direct view of the physical processes operating at the onset of star formation.

12 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL

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