arXiv subjects

Luis A. Zapata

Publications and source records attributed to Luis A. Zapata.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

arXiv2017

Molecular outflows: Explosive versus protostellar

With the recent recognition of a second, distinctive class of molecular outflows, namely the explosive ones not directly connected to the accretion-ejection process in the star formation, a juxtaposition of the morphological and kinematic properties of both classes is warranted. By applying the same method used in Zapata et al. (2009), and using $^{12}$CO(J=2-1) archival data from the Submillimeter Array (SMA), we contrast two well known explosive objects, Orion KL and DR21, to HH211 and DG Tau B, two flows representative of classical low-mass protostellar outflows. At the moment there are only two well established cases of explosive outflows, but with the full availability of ALMA we expect that more examples will be found in the near future. Main results are the largely different spatial distributions of the explosive flows, consisting of numerous narrow straight filament-like ejections with different orientations and in almost an isotropic configuration, the red with respect to the blueshifted components of the flows (maximally separated in protostellar, largely overlapping in explosive outflows), the very well-defined Hubble flow-like increase of velocity with distance from the origin in the explosive filaments versus the mostly non-organized CO velocity field in protostellar objects, and huge inequalities in mass, momentum and energy of the two classes, at least for the case of low-mass flows. Finally, all the molecular filaments in the explosive outflows point back to approximately a central position i.e. the place where its "exciting source" was located, contrary to the bulk of the molecular material within the protostellar outflows.

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arXiv2017

Complex Organic Molecules tracing shocks along the outflow cavity in the high-mass protostar IRAS20126+4104

We report on subarcsecond observations of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the high-mass protostar IRAS20126+4104 with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in its most extended configurations. In addition to the simple molecules SO, HNCO and H2-13CO, we detect emission from CH3CN, CH3OH, HCOOH, HCOOCH3, CH3OCH3, CH3CH2CN, CH3COCH3, NH2CN, and (CH2OH)2. SO and HNCO present a X-shaped morphology consistent with tracing the outflow cavity walls. Most of the COMs have their peak emission at the putative position of the protostar, but also show an extension towards the south(east), coinciding with an H2 knot from the jet at about 800-1000 au from the protostar. This is especially clear in the case of H2-13CO and CH3OCH3. We fitted the spectra at representative positions for the disc and the outflow, and found that the abundances of most COMs are comparable at both positions, suggesting that COMs are enhanced in shocks as a result of the passage of the outflow. By coupling a parametric shock model to a large gas-grain chemical network including COMs, we find that the observed COMs should survive in the gas phase for about 2000 yr, comparable to the shock lifetime estimated from the water masers at the outflow position. Overall, our data indicate that COMs in IRAS20126+4104 may arise not only from the disc, but also from dense and hot regions associated with the outflow.

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arXiv2016

3.3 cm JVLA observations of transitional disks: searching for centimeter pebbles

We present sensitive (rms-noises $\sim$ 4 -- 25 $μ$Jy) and high angular resolution ($\sim$1--2$"$) 8.9 GHz (3.3 cm) Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) radio continuum observations of 10 presumed transitional disks associated with young low-mass stars. We report the detection of radio continuum emission in 5 out of the 10 objects (RXJ1615, UX Tau A, LkCa15, RXJ1633, and SR24s). In the case of LkCa15, the centimeter emission is extended, and has a similar morphology to that of the transitional disk observed at mm wavelengths with an inner depression. For these five detections, we construct the Spectral Energy Distributions (SEDs) from the centimeter to submillimeter wavelengths, and find that they can be well fitted with a single (RXJ 1633 and UX Tau A) or a two component power-law (LkCa 15, RXJ 1615, and SR24s). For the cases where a single power-law fits well the data, the centimeter emission is likely produced by optically thin dust with large grains i.e. centimeter-size pebbles) present in the transitional disks. For the cases where a double power-law fits the data, the centimeter emission might be produced by the combination of photoevaporation and/or a free-free jet. We conclude that RXJ1633 and UX Tau A are excellent examples of transitional disks where the structure of the emission from centimeter/millimeter pebbles can be studied. In the other cases, some other physical emitting mechanisms are also important in the centimeter regime.

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arXiv2015

Complex molecules in W51 North region

We present Submillimeter Array (SMA) molecular line observations in two 2 GHz-wide bands centered at 217.5 and 227.5 GHz, toward the massive star forming region W51 North. We identified 84 molecular line transitions from 17 species and their isotopologues. The molecular gas distribution of these lines mainly peaks in the continuum position of W51 North, and has a small tail extending to the west, probably associated with W51 d2. In addition to the commonly detected nitrogen and oxygen-bearing species, we detected a large amount of transitions of the Acetone (CH$_3$COCH$_3$) and Methyl Formate (CH$_3$OCHO), which may suggest that these molecules are present in an early evolutionary stage of the massive stars. We also found that W51 North is an ethanol-rich source. There is no obvious difference in the molecular gas distributions between the oxygen-bearing and nitrogen-bearing molecules. Under the assumption of Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium (LTE), with the XCLASS tool, the molecular column densities, and rotation temperatures are estimated. We found that the oxygen-bearing molecules have considerable higher column densities and fractional abundances than the nitrogen-bearing molecules. The rotation temperatures range from 100 to 200 K, suggesting that the molecular emission could be originated from a warm environment. Finally, based on the gas distributions, fractional abundances and the rotation temperatures, we conclude that CH$_3$OH, C$_2$H$_5$OH, CH$_3$COCH$_3$ and CH$_3$CH$_2$CN might be synthesized on the grain surface, while gas phase chemistry is responsible for the production of CH$_3$OCH$_3$, CH$_3$OCHO and CH$_2$CHCN.

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arXiv2015

Gravity or turbulence? -III. Evidence of pure thermal Jeans fragmentation at ~0.1 pc scale

We combine previously published interferometric and single-dish data of relatively nearby massive dense cores that are actively forming stars to test whether their `fragmentation level' is controlled by turbulent or thermal support. We find no clear correlation between the fragmentation level and velocity dispersion, nor between the observed number of fragments and the number of fragments expected when the gravitationally unstable mass is calculated including various prescriptions for `turbulent support'. On the other hand, the best correlation is found for the case of pure thermal Jeans fragmentation, for which we infer a core formation efficiency around 13 per cent, consistent with previous works. We conclude that the dominant factor determining the fragmentation level of star-forming massive dense cores at 0.1 pc scale seems to be thermal Jeans fragmentation.

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arXiv2015

Radio monitoring of the periodically variable IR source LRLL 54361: No direct correlation between the radio and IR emissions

LRLL 54361 is an infrared source located in the star forming region IC 348 SW. Remarkably, its infrared luminosity increases by a factor of 10 during roughly one week every 25.34 days. To understand the origin of these remarkable periodic variations, we obtained sensitive 3.3 cm JVLA radio continuum observations of LRLL 54361 and its surroundings in six different epochs: three of them during the IR-on state and three during the IR-off state. The radio source associated with LRLL 54361 remained steady and did not show a correlation with the IR variations. We suggest that the IR is tracing the results of fast (with a timescale of days) pulsed accretion from an unseen binary companion, while the radio traces an ionized outflow with an extent of $\sim$100 AU that smooths out the variability over a period of order a year. The average flux density measured in these 2014 observations, 27$\pm$5 $μ$Jy, is about a factor of two less than that measured about 1.5 years before, $53\pm$11 $μ$Jy, suggesting that variability in the radio is present, but over larger timescales than in the IR. We discuss other sources in the field, in particular two infrared/X-ray stars that show rapidly varying gyrosynchrotron emission.

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arXiv2015

Origin and kinematics of the eruptive flow from XZ Tau revealed by ALMA

We present high angular resolution ($\sim$0.94$"$) $^{12}$CO(1-0) Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations obtained during the 2014 long baseline campaign from the eruptive bipolar flow from the multiple XZ Tau stellar system discovered by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). These observations reveal, for the first time, the kinematics of the molecular flow. The kinematics of the different ejections close to XZ Tau reveal a rotating and expanding structure with a southeast-northwest velocity gradient. The youngest eruptive bubbles unveiled in the optical HST images are inside of this molecular expanding structure. Additionally, we report a very compact and collimated bipolar outflow emanating from XZ Tau A, which indicates that the eruptive outflow is indeed originating from this object. The mass (3 $\times$ 10$^{-7}$ $M_\odot$) and energetics (E$_{kin}$ $=$ 3 $\times$ 10$^{37}$ ergs) for the collimated outflow are comparable with those found in molecular outflows associated with young brown dwarfs.

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arXiv2015

Pre- and Post-burst Radio Observations of the Class 0 Protostar HOPS 383 in Orion

There is increasing evidence that episodic accretion is a common phenomenon in Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). Recently, the source HOPS 383 in Orion was reported to have a $\times 35$ mid-infrared -- and bolometric -- luminosity increase between 2004 and 2008, constituting the first clear example of a class 0 YSO (a protostar) with a large accretion burst. The usual assumption that in YSOs accretion and ejection follow each other in time needs to be tested. Radio jets at centimeter wavelengths are often the only way of tracing the jets from embedded protostars. We searched the Very Large Array archive for the available observations of the radio counterpart of HOPS 383. The data show that the radio flux of HOPS 383 varies only mildly from January 1998 to December 2014, staying at the level of $\sim 200$ to 300 $μ$Jy in the X band ($\sim 9$ GHz), with a typical uncertainty of 10 to 20 $μ$Jy in each measurement. We interpret the absence of a radio burst as suggesting that accretion and ejection enhancements do not follow each other in time, at least not within timescales shorter than a few years. Time monitoring of more objects and specific predictions from simulations are needed to clarify the details of the connection betwen accretion and jets/winds in YSOs.

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arXiv2014

Kinematics of the Outflow From The Young Star DG Tau B: Rotation in the vicinities of an optical jet

We present $^{12}$CO(2-1) line and 1300 $μ$m continuum observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) of the young star DG Tau B. We find, in the continuum observations, emission arising from the circumstellar disk surrounding DG Tau B. The $^{12}$CO(2-1) line observations, on the other hand, revealed emission associated with the disk and the asymmetric outflow related with this source. Velocity asymmetries about the flow axis are found over the entire length of the flow. The amplitude of the velocity differences is of the order of 1 -- 2 km s$^{-1}$ over distances of about 300 -- 400 AU. We interpret them as a result of outflow rotation. The sense of the outflow and disk rotation is the same. Infalling gas from a rotating molecular core cannot explain the observed velocity gradient within the flow. Magneto-centrifugal disk winds or photoevaporated disk winds can produce the observed rotational speeds if they are ejected from a keplerian disk at radii of several tens of AU. Nevertheless, these slow winds ejected from large radii are not very massive, and cannot account for the observed linear momentum and angular momentum rates of the molecular flow. Thus, the observed flow is probably entrained material from the parent cloud. DG Tau B is a good laboratory to model in detail the entrainment process and see if it can account for the observed angular momentum.

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arXiv2014

An Ionized Outflow from AB Aur, a Herbig Ae Star with a Transitional Disk

AB Aur is a Herbig Ae star with a transitional disk. Transitional disks present substantial dust clearing in their inner regions, most probably because of the formation of one or more planets, although other explanations are still viable. In transitional objects, accretion is found to be about an order of magnitude smaller than in classical full disks. Since accretion is believed to be correlated with outflow activity, centimeter free-free jets are expected to be present in association with these systems, at weaker levels than in classical protoplanetary (full) systems. We present new observations of the centimeter radio emission associated with the inner regions of AB Aur and conclude that the morphology, orientation, spectral index and lack of temporal variability of the centimeter source imply the presence of a collimated, ionized outflow. The radio luminosity of this radio jet is, however, about 20 times smaller than that expected for a classical system of similar bolometric luminosity. We conclude that centimeter continuum emission is present in association with stars with transitional disks, but at levels than are becoming detectable only with the upgraded radio arrays. On the other hand, assuming that the jet velocity is 300 km s$^{-1}$, we find that the ratio of mass loss rate to accretion rate in AB Aur is $\sim$0.1, similar to that found for less evolved systems.

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arXiv2014

IC348-SMM2E: a Class 0 proto-brown dwarf candidate forming as a scaled-down version of low-mass stars

We report on Submillimeter Array observations of the 870 micron continuum and CO(3-2), 13CO(2-1) and C18O(2-1) line emission of a faint object, SMM2E, near the driving source of the HH797 outflow in the IC348 cluster. The continuum emission shows an unresolved source for which we estimate a mass of gas and dust of 30 Mjup, and the CO(3-2) line reveals a compact bipolar outflow centred on SMM2E, and barely seen also in 13CO(2-1). In addition, C18O(2-1) emission reveals hints of a possible rotating envelope/disk perpendicular to the outflow, for which we infer a dynamical mass of ~16 Mjup. In order to further constrain the accreted mass of the object, we gathered data from Spitzer, Herschel, and new and archive submillimetre observations, and built the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED). The SED can be fitted with one single modified black-body from 70 micron down to 2.1 cm, using a dust temperature of ~24 K, a dust emissivity index of 0.8, and an envelope mass of ~35 Mjup. The bolometric luminosity is 0.10 Lsun, and the bolometric temperature is 35 K. Thus, SMM2E is comparable to the known Class 0 objects in the stellar domain. An estimate of the final mass indicates that SMM2E will most likely remain substellar, and the SMM2E outflow force matches the trend with luminosity known for young stellar objects. Thus, SMM2E constitutes an excellent example of a Class 0 proto-brown dwarf candidate which forms as a scaled-down version of low-mass stars. Finally, SMM2E seems to be part of a wide (~2400 AU) multiple system of Class 0 sources.

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arXiv2014

A spider-like outflow in Barnard 5 - IRS 1: The transition from a collimated jet to a wide-angle outflow?

We present line and continuum observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) of the young stellar object Barnard 5 - IRS1 located in the Perseus molecular cloud. Our $^{12}$CO(2-1) line observations resolve the high-velocity bipolar northeast-southwest outflow associated with this source. We find that the outflowing gas shows different structures at three different velocity regimes, in both lobes, resulting in a spider-like morphology. In addition to the low-velocity, cone-like (wide-angle) lobes that have previously been observed, we report the presence of intermediate-velocity parabolic shells emerging very close to the Class I protostar, as well as high velocity molecular bullets that appear to be associated to the optical/IR jet emanating from this source. These compact high-velocity features reach radial velocities of about 50 km s$^{-1}$ away from the cloud velocity. We interpret the peculiar spider-like morphology is a result of the molecular material being entrained by a wind with both a collimated jet-like component and a wide-angle component. We suggest the outflow is in a transitional evolutionary phase between a mostly jet-driven flow and an outflow in which the entrainment is dominated by the wide-angle wind component. We also detect 1300 $μ$m continuum emission at the position of the protostar, which likely arises from the dusty envelope and disk surrounding the protostar. Finally, we report the detection of $^{13}$CO(2-1) and SO(6$_5$-5$_4$) emission arising from the outflow and the location of the young stellar object.

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arXiv2014

SMA Submillimeter Observations of HL Tau: Revealing a compact molecular outflow

We present archival high angular resolution ($\sim$ 2$''$) $^{12}$CO(3-2) line and continuum submillimeter observations of the young stellar object HL Tau made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). The $^{12}$CO(3-2) line observations reveal the presence of a compact and wide opening angle bipolar outflow with a northeast and southwest orientation (P.A. = 50$^\circ$), and that is associated with the optical and infrared jet emanating from HL Tau with a similar orientation. On the other hand, the 850 $μ$m continuum emission observations exhibit a strong and compact source in the position of HL Tau that has a spatial size of $\sim$ 200 $\times$ 70 AU with a P.A. $=$ 145$^\circ$, and a dust mass of around 0.1 M$_\odot$. These physical parameters are in agreement with values obtained recently from millimeter observations. This submillimeter source is therefore related with the disk surrounding HL Tau.

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arXiv2013

The compact, time-variable radio source projected inside W3(OH): Evidence for a Photoevaporated Disk?

We present new Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array observations of the compact (~ 0.05"), time-variable radio source projected near the center of the ultracompact HII region W3(OH). The analysis of our new data as well as of VLA archival observations confirms the variability of the source on timescales of years and for a given epoch indicates a spectral index of α= 1.3 +- 0.3 (S_ν\propto ν^α). This spectral index and the brightness temperature of the source (~6,500 K) suggest that we are most probably detecting partially optically thick free-free radiation. The radio source is probably associated with the ionizing star of W3(OH), but an interpretation in terms of an ionized stellar wind fails because the detected flux densities are orders of magnitude larger than expected. We discuss several scenarios and tentatively propose that the radio emission could arise in a static ionized atmosphere around a fossil photoevaporated disk.

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arXiv2013

Searching for the main powering outflow objects in Cepheus A East

We present (sub)millimeter line and continuum observations in a mosaicing mode of the massive star forming region Cepheus A East made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA). Our mosaic covers a total area of about 3$'$ $\times$ 12$'$ centered in the HW 2/3 region. For the first time, this observational study encloses a high angular resolution ($\sim$ 3$''$) together with a large scale mapping of Cepheus A East. We report compact and high velocity $^{12}$CO(2-1) emission associated with the multiple east-west bright H$_2$ condensations present in the region. Blueshifted and redshifted gas emission is found towards the east as well as west of HW 2/3. The observations suggest the presence of multiple large-scale east-west outflows that seems to be powered at smaller scales by radio sources associated with the young stars HW2, HW3c and HW3d. A kinematical study of part of the data suggests that the molecular outflow powered by HW2 is precesing with time as recently reported. Our data reveal five periodic ejections of material separated approximately every 10$^\circ$ as projected in the plane of the sky. The most recent ejections appear to move toward the plane of the sky. An energetic explosive event as the one that occurred in Orion BN/KL or DR21 does not explain the kinematics, and the dynamical times of the multiple ejections found here. The continuum observations only revealed a strong millimeter source associated with the HW 2/3 region. High angular resolution observations allow us to resolve this extended dusty object in only two compact sources (with spatial sizes of approximately 300 AU) associated with HW2 and HW3c. Finally, the bright optical/X-Ray HH 168 -- GDD37 object might be produced by strong shocks related with the outflow from HW3c.

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arXiv2013

A 10,000 Years Old Explosion in DR21

Sensitive high angular resolution ($\sim$ 2$"$) CO(2-1) line observations made with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) of the flow emanating from the high-mass star forming region DR21 located in the Cygnus X molecular cloud are presented. These new interferometric observations indicate that this well known enigmatic outflow appears to have been produced by an explosive event that took place about 10,000 years ago, and that might be related with the disintegration of a massive stellar system, as the one that occurred in Orion BN/KL 500 years ago, but about 20 times more energetic. This result therefore argues in favor of the idea that the disintegration of young stellar systems perhaps is a frequent phenomenon present during the formation of the massive stars. However, many more theoretical and observational studies are still needed to confirm our hypothesis.

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arXiv2013

ALMA 690 GHz observations of IRAS 16293-2422B: Infall in a highly optically-thick disk

We present sensitive, high angular resolution ($\sim$ 0.2 arcsec) submillimeter continuum and line observations of IRAS 16293-2422B made with the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA). The 0.45 mm continuum observations reveal a single and very compact source associated with IRAS 16293-2422B. This submillimeter source has a deconvolved angular size of about 400 {\it milli-arcseconds} (50 AU), and does not show any inner structure inside of this diameter. The H$^{13}$CN, HC$^{15}$N, and CH$_{3}$OH line emission regions are about twice as large as the continuum emission and reveal a pronounced inner depression or "hole" with a size comparable to that estimated for the submillimeter continuum. We suggest that the presence of this inner depression and the fact that we do not see inner structure (or a flat structure) in the continuum is produced by very optically thick dust located in the innermost parts of IRAS 16293-2422B. All three lines also show pronounced inverse P-Cygni profiles with infall and dispersion velocities larger than those recently reported from observations at lower frequencies, suggesting that we are detecting faster, and more turbulent gas located closer to the central object. Finally, we report a small east-west velocity gradient in IRAS 16293-2422B that suggests that its disk plane is likely located very close to the plane of the sky.

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arXiv2012

Hierarchical Fragmentation of the Orion Molecular Filaments

We present a high angular resolution map of 850 um continuum emission of the Orion Molecular Cloud-3 (OMC 3) obtained with the Submillimeter Array (SMA); the map is a mosaic of 85 pointings covering an approximate area of 6'.5 x 2'.0 (0.88 x 0.27 pc). We detect 12 spatially resolved continuum sources, each with an H_2 mass between 0.3-5.7 Mo and a projected source size between 1400-8200 AU. All the detected sources are on the filamentary main ridge n_H2>10^6 cm^-3), and analysis based on the Jeans theorem suggests that they are most likely gravitationally unstable. Comparison of multi-wavelength data sets indicates that of the continuum sources, 6/12 (50 %) are associated with molecular outflows, 8/12 (67 %) are associated with infrared sources, and 3/12 (25 %) are associated with ionized jets. The evolutionary status of these sources ranges from prestellar cores to protostar phase, confirming that OMC-3 is an active region with ongoing embedded star-formation. We detect quasi-periodical separations between the OMC-3 sources of ~17"/0.035 pc. This spatial distribution is part of a large hierarchical structure, that also includes fragmentation scales of GMC (~35 pc), large-scale clumps (~1.3 pc), and small-scale clumps (~0.3 pc), suggesting that hierarchical fragmentation operates within the Orion A molecular cloud. The fragmentation spacings are roughly consistent with the thermal fragmentation length in large-scale clumps, while for small-scale cores it is smaller than the local fragmentation length. These smaller spacings observed with the SMA can be explained by either a helical magnetic field, cloud rotation, or/and global filament collapse. Finally, possible evidence for sequential fragmentation is suggested in the northern part of the OMC-3 filament.

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