arXiv subjects

Fabien Louvet

Publications and source records attributed to Fabien Louvet.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2018

Dusty spirals triggered by shadows in transition discs

Context. Despite the recent discovery of spiral-shaped features in protoplanetary discs in the near-infrared and millimetric wavelengths, there is still an active discussion to understand how they formed. In fact, the spiral waves observed in discs around young stars can be due to different physical mechanisms: planet/companion torques, gravitational perturbations or illumination effects. Aims. We study the spirals formed in the gaseous phase due to two diametrically opposed shadows cast at fixed disc locations. The shadows are created by an inclined non-precessing disc inside the cavity, which is assumed to be optically thick. In particular, we analyse the effect of these spirals on the dynamics of the dust particles and discuss their detectability in transition discs. Methods. We perform gaseous hydrodynamical simulations with shadows, then we compute the dust evolution on top of the gaseous distribution, and finally we produce synthetic ALMA observations of the dust emission based on radiative transfer calculations. Results. Our main finding is that mm- to cm-sized dust particles are efficiently trapped inside the shadow-triggered spirals. We also observe that particles of various sizes starting at different stellocentric distances are well mixed inside these pressure maxima. This dynamical effect would favour grain growth and affect the resulting composition of planetesimals in the disc. In addition, our radiative transfer calculations show spiral patterns in the disc at 1.6 μm and 1.3 mm. Due to their faint thermal emission (compared to the bright inner regions of the disc) the spirals cannot be detected with ALMA. Our synthetic observations prove however that shadows are observable as dips in the thermal emission.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2018

The HH30 edge-on T Tauri star A rotating and precessing monopolar outflow scrutinized by ALMA

The disk-outflow connection is thought to play a key role in extracting excess angular momentum from a forming protostar. We present ALMA 0.25" angular resolution observations - in the dust continuum at 1.33 mm and of the molecular line transitions of $^{12}$CO(2-1) and $^{13}$CO(2-1) - of the circumstellar disk and outflow around the T Tauri star HH30, a rare and beautiful example of a pre-main sequence star exhibiting a flared edge-on disk, an optical jet, and a CO molecular outflow. The 1.3 mm continuum emission shows a remarkable elongated morphology along PA=31.2°+/-0.1° that has a constant brightness out to a radius of r=75 au. The emission is marginally resolved in the transverse direction, implying an intrinsic vertical width $\leq$24 au and an inclination to the line-of-sight i$\geq$84.8°. The monopolar outflow, detected in $^{12}$CO, arises from the north-eastern face of the disk from a disk radius r$\leq$22 au and extends up to 5" (or 700 au) above the disk plane. We derive a lower limit to the total mass of the CO cavity/outflow of 1.7E-5 M$_\odot$. The CO cavity morphology is that of a hollow cone with semi-opening angle ~35°. The derived kinematics are consistent with gas flowing along the conical surface with a constant velocity of 9.3+/-0.7 km/s. We detect small rotation signatures (Vphi x sin(i) $\in$ [0.1;0.5] km/s) in the same sense as the underlying circumstellar disk. From these rotation signatures we infer an average specific angular momentum of the outflow of 38+/-15 au km/s at altitudes z<250 au. We also report the detection of small amplitude wiggling (1.2°) of the CO axis around an average inclination to the line of sight of i=91°. The derived morphology and kinematics of the CO cavity are compatible with expectations from a slow disk wind, originating either through photo-evaporation or magneto-centrifugal processes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2018

ALMA observations of RCW 120 Fragmentation at 0.01pc scale

Little is known about how high-mass stars form. Around 30\% of the young high-mass stars in the Galaxy are observed at the edges of ionized (HII) regions. Therefore these are places of choice to study the earliest stages of high-mass star formation, especially towards the most massive condensations. High-spatial resolution observations in the millimeter range might reveal how these stars form and how they assemble their mass. We want to study the fragmentation process down to the 0.01~pc scale in the most massive condensation observed at the south-western edge of the HII region RCW~120 where the most massive Herschel cores ($\sim$124~$M_{\odot}$ in average) could form high-mass stars. Using ALMA 3~mm continuum observations towards the densest and most massive millimetric condensation (Condensation 1) of RCW~120, we used the getimages and getsources algorithms to extract the sources detected with ALMA and obtained their physical parameters. The fragmentation of the hersche cores is discussed through their Jeans mass to understand the properties of the future stars. We extracted 18 fragments from the ALMA continuum observation at 3~mm towards 8 cores detected with Herschel, whose mass and deconvolved size range from 2~$M_{\odot}$ to 32~$M_{\odot}$ and from 1.6~mpc to 28.8~mpc, respectively. The low degree of fragmentation observed, regarding to the thermal Jeans fragmentation, suggests that the observed fragmentation is inconsistent with ideal gravitational fragmentation and other ingredients such as turbulence or magnetic fields should be added in order to explain it. Finally, the range of fragments' mass indicates that the densest condensation of RCW~120 is a favourable place for the formation of high-mass stars with the presence of a probable UCHII region associated with the 27~$M_{\odot}$ Fragment 1 of Core 2.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2017

Solutions of the buoyancy-drag equation with a time-dependent acceleration

We perform the analytic study of the the buoyancy-drag equation with a time-dependent acceleration $γ(t)$ by two methods. We first determine its equivalence class under the point transformations of Roger Liouville, and thus for some values of $γ(t)$ define a time-dependent Hamiltonian from which the buoyancy-drag equation can be derived. We then determine the Lie point symmetries of the buoyancy-drag equation, which only exist for values of $γ(t)$ including the previous ones, plus additional classes of accelerations for which the equation is reducible to an Abel equation. This allows us to exhibit two régimes for the asymptotic (large time $t$) solution of the buoyancy-drag equation. %\textbf{ It is shown that they describe a mixing zone driven by the Rayleigh--Taylor instability and the Richtmyer--Meshkov instability, respectively.

nlin.SI↗

arXiv2017

High-Mass Star and Massive Cluster Formation in the Milky Way

This review examines the state-of-the-art knowledge of high-mass star and massive cluster formation, gained from ambitious observational surveys, which acknowledge the multi-scale characteristics of these processes. After a brief overview of theoretical models and main open issues, we present observational searches for the evolutionary phases of high-mass star formation, first among high-luminosity sources and more recently among young massive protostars and the elusive high-mass prestellar cores. We then introduce the most likely evolutionary scenario for high-mass star formation, which emphasizes the link of high-mass star formation to massive cloud and cluster formation. Finally, we introduce the first attempts to search for variations of the star formation activity and cluster formation in molecular cloud complexes, in the most extreme star-forming sites, and across the Milky Way. The combination of Galactic plane surveys and high-angular resolution images with submillimeter facilities such as Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) are prerequisites to make significant progresses in the forthcoming decade.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

The scaling relations and star formation laws of ministarburst complexes

The scaling relations and the star formation laws for molecular cloud complexes in the Milky Way is investigated. We compare their masses $M_{\rm gas}$, mass surface densities $Σ_{M_{\rm gas}}$, radii $R$, velocity dispersions $σ$, star formation rates $SFR$, and SFR densities $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ with those of structures ranging from cores, clumps, Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs), to Molecular Cloud Complexes (MCCs), and to Galaxies, spanning 8 orders of magnitudes in size and 13 orders of magnitudes in mass. MCC are mostly large ($R>50$ pc), massive ($\sim 10^{6}$\,\msun) gravitationally unbound cloud structures. This results in the following universal relations: $σ\sim R^{0.5}$, $M_{\rm gas}\sim R^{2}$, $Σ_{\rm SFR}\sim Σ_{M_{\rm gas}}^{1.5}$, ${SFR}\sim {M_{\rm gas}}^{0.9}$, and ${SFR}\sim σ^{2.7}$. Variations in the slopes and the coefficients of these relations are found at individual scales signifying different physics acting at different scales. Additionally, there are breaks at the MCC scale in the $σ-R$ relation and between the starburst and the normal star-forming objects in the $SFR-M_{\rm gas}$ and $Σ_{\rm SFR}$-$Σ_{\rm M_{\rm gas}}$ relations. We propose to use the Schmidt-Kennicutt diagram to distinguish the starburst from the normal star-forming structures by applying a $Σ_{M_{\rm gas}}$ threshold of $\sim100$\,\msun pc$^{-2}$ and a $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ threshold of 1\,\msun yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$. Mini-starburst complexes have enhanced $Σ_{\rm SFR}$ ($>$1\,\msun yr$^{-1}$ kpc$^{-2}$), probably caused by dynamic events such as radiation pressure, colliding flows, or spiral arm gravitational instability. Because of the dynamical evolution, gravitational boundedness does not play a significant role in characterizing the star formation activity of MCCs, especially the mini-starburst complexes.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Interferometric mapping of magnetic fields: The ALMA view of the massive star forming clump W43-MM1

Here we present the first results from ALMA observations of 1 mm polarized dust emission towards the W43-MM1 high mass star forming clump. We have detected a highly fragmented filament with source masses ranging from 14Msun to 312Msun, where the largest fragment, source A, is believed to be one of the most massive in our Galaxy. We found a smooth, ordered, and detailed polarization pattern throughout the filament which we used to derived magnetic field morphologies and strengths for 12 out of the 15 fragments detected ranging from 0.2 to 9 mG. The dynamical equilibrium of each fragment was evaluated finding that all the fragments are in a super-critical state which is consistent with previously detected infalling motions towards W43-MM1. Moreover, there are indications suggesting that the field is being dragged by gravity as the whole filament is collapsing.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2016

Star formation in infrared dark clouds: Self-gravity and dynamics

The role played by gravity in the transfer of interstellar matter from molecular cloud scales to protostellar scales is still highly debated. Only detailed studies on the kinematics of large samples of star-forming clouds will settle the issue. We present new IRAM 30m observations of a sample of 27 infrared dark clouds covering a large range of sizes, masses, and aspect ratios. Preliminary results suggest that gravity is regulating the dynamical evolution of these clouds on a couple of parsec scales.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2014

The W43-MM1 mini-starburst ridge, a test for star formation efficiency models

Context: Star formation efficiency (SFE) theories are currently based on statistical distributions of turbulent cloud structures and a simple model of star formation from cores. They remain poorly tested, especially at the highest densities. Aims: We investigate the effects of gas density on the SFE through measurements of the core formation efficiency (CFE). With a total mass of $\sim2\times10^4$ M$_\odot$, the W43-MM1 ridge is one of the most convincing candidate precursor of starburst clusters and thus one of the best place to investigate star formation. Methods: We used high-angular resolution maps obtained at 3 mm and 1 mm within W43-MM1 with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer to reveal a cluster of 11 massive dense cores (MDCs), and, one of the most massive protostellar cores known. An Herschel column density image provided the mass distribution of the cloud gas. We then measured the 'instantaneous' CFE and estimated the SFE and the star formation rate (SFR) within subregions of the W43-MM1 ridge. Results: The high SFE found in the ridge ($\sim$6% enclosed in $\sim$8 pc$^3$) confirms its ability to form a starburst cluster. There is however a clear lack of dense cores in the northern part of the ridge, which may be currently assembling. The CFE and the SFE are observed to increase with volume gas density while the SFR steeply decreases with the virial parameter, $α_{vir}$. Statistical models of the SFR may well describe the outskirts of the W43-MM1 ridge but struggle to reproduce its inner part, which corresponds to measurements at low $α_{vir}$. It may be that ridges do not follow the log-normal density distribution, Larson relations, and stationary conditions forced in the statistical SFR models.

astro-ph.SR↗