Sub-millimeter wavelength protostellar accretion rate monitoring with AtLAST

Thomas Stanke; Verena Wolf; Bringfried Stecklum; Doug Johnstone; Jochen Eislöffel; Gregory J. Herczeg; S. Tom Megeath; Karri I. I. Koljonen

arXiv · 2512.14777

Sub-millimeter wavelength protostellar accretion rate monitoring with AtLAST

Thomas Stanke·Verena Wolf·Bringfried Stecklum·Doug Johnstone·Jochen Eislöffel·Gregory J. Herczeg·S. Tom Megeath·Karri I. I. Koljonen

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Abstract

How a star forms is a fundamental question in astrophysics. In the earliest stages of protostellar evolution high extinction prevents a direct study of the accretion processes and their temporal evolution. Monitoring the variations of the accretion luminosity in a large protostar sample over decades is needed to reveal how protostars accrete -- in major bursts or in a quasi-steady fashion. We here argue that a large ground based sub-millimeter single-dish facility with a wide FoV is required to fulfill this task.

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BibTeX RIS

Thomas Stanke, Verena Wolf, Bringfried Stecklum, Doug Johnstone, Jochen Eislöffel, Gregory J. Herczeg, S. Tom Megeath, Karri I. I. Koljonen. 2025-12-16. Sub-millimeter wavelength protostellar accretion rate monitoring with AtLAST. https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.14777

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