arXiv subjects

S. Spezzano

Publications and source records attributed to S. Spezzano.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Corona Australis 151: an extremely young protostar

Context. Prestellar cores are the birthplace of stars and planetary systems, but they are short-lived objects, since the initial stages of dense core evolution, collapse, and the formation of a protostellar seed are fast. In an effort to build a catalogue of bona-fide prestellar cores in the Solar neighbourhood, we used APEX observations to identify dynamically evolved cores among dense cores observed with Herschel. One of them, Corona Australis 151, stood out because of its centrally peaked structure, with densities above 1e7cm-3 in the central 500-1000 au, and high deuteration levels (N2D+/N2H+~0.5), suggestive of an evolved, prestellar stage. Aims. Corona Australis 151 appears to be an evolved prestellar core, but the presence of broad wings in some of the detected lines and a tentative 70micron detection with Herschel partially challenges its prestellar stage. We intend to assess its evolutionary stage. Methods. We analyse new ALMA data of the continuum emission and of several line tracers (including typical outflow tracers) at a resolution of~150-200au, tracing the envelope. Results. We unveil the presence of a compact and young outflow (projected dynamical age:~500yr), traced by SiO, CO, and H2CO emission. The continuum emission traces an envelope structure of size~1000 au and mass 0.33M_sun(assuming Tdust=20 K). Conclusions. Corona Australis 151 is an extremely young protostar, possibly one of the youngest known in the Solar neighbourhood, and hence a new laboratory to study the chemical and dynamical evolution at the dawn of star formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

End-to-end differentiable retrieval of molecular spectra using hydrodynamics, chemistry, and radiative transfer

We aim to reproduce observed molecular line emission using a pipeline that couples hydrodynamics, chemistry, and radiative transfer, capable of simultaneously optimizing all relevant physical and chemical parameters. We developed an end-to-end differentiable Jax pipeline consisting of a custom hydrodynamical code, a modified version of the differentiable chemical code Carbox, and a custom radiative transfer code. We tested the framework using controlled synthetic data. We demonstrate that the framework can recover the parameters of hydrodynamical shock models directly from molecular line spectra and optimize selected chemical reaction rate coefficients through gradient-based optimization. The differentiable formulation enables efficient optimization of the coupled physical and chemical model while preserving the full time-dependent evolution.

astro-ph.IM↗

arXiv2026

Tracing the sulfur depletion in starless and pre-stellar cores

Sulfur is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe, yet the sulfur budget inferred from the observed sulfur-bearing molecules in dense cores is significantly lower than expected. Starless and pre-stellar cores represent the earliest stages of star formation and provide a laboratory for studying the physical and chemical processes that cause sulfur depletion. We aim to constrain sulfur chemistry in dense cores by measuring abundances of sulfur-bearing molecules and how they reflect core evolution and environmental effects. We observed nine cores in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, targeting 13 sulfur-bearing molecules, including CS, CCS, C$_3$S, OCS, SO, SO$_2$, H$_2$CS, and isotopologs. Molecular abundances and six abundance ratios were compared to three evolutionary tracers: H$_2$ column density, N$_2$D$^+$/N$_2$H$^+$, and the CO depletion factor. We also compared observations with 0D chemical models with different initial sulfur abundances. We find variations in abundances across cores. L1517B exhibits low abundances and a high depletion factor, whereas L1495B shows enhanced levels in oxygen-bearing species within the L1495 filament. Ratios tracing carbon- and oxygen-bearing species (CCS/$^{34}$SO and C$^{34}$S/$^{34}$SO) decrease with increasing H$_2$ column density and N$_2$D$^+$/N$_2$H$^+$ ratio. Other species and ratios show weak or no correlation with tracers. Models reproduce OCS, H$_2$CS, and HDCS reasonably well, but not all species simultaneously, especially between carbon- and oxygen-bearing molecules. The variations and lack of consistent correlations suggest that a single evolutionary parameter cannot describe sulfur chemistry and that the local environmental conditions strongly influence the observed abundances. Reproducing the full sample of sulfur-bearing molecules would require improved chemical networks and models that account for the core's physical structure.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

A 3D physico-chemical model of a pre-stellar core. II. Dynamic chemical evolution in a pre-stellar core model using tracer particles

This work explores the differences between static and dynamically evolving physico-chemical models of pre-stellar cores. A 3D MHD model of a pre-stellar core embedded in a dynamic star-forming cloud is post-processed using sequentially dust radiative transfer, a gas-grain chemical model, and a non-LTE line-radiative transfer model. The chemical evolution is modeled along $\sim$20,000 tracer particle trajectories to capture the impact of a realistic dynamical evolution as the core is formed. The emission morphology of CH$_3$OH and $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ and the intensities of CH$_3$OH, $c$-C$_3$H$_2$, CS, SO, HCN, HCO$^+$ and N$_2$H$^+$ are compared with observations of L1544. Our results show a distinct difference in chemical morphology between the dynamical and static models. The dynamical model reproduces the observed spatial distribution of CH$_3$OH and $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ toward L1544, whereas the static model fails to reproduce this morphology. In contrast, when comparing modeled and observed intensities across a broad range of molecules, the static model shows good agreement with observations for L1544. The dynamical model systematically predicts lower abundances and modeled intensities for six of the seven species presented here. For sulphur-bearing species, the intensities are in better agreement with observations when the initial abundances are undepleted in heavier elements. This study reveals distinct differences between dynamical and static physico-chemical models. The static model predicts higher abundances and intensities for the majority of the molecules studied here, compared with the dynamical model. This discrepancy may stem from the specific choices of initial conditions, which could limit the dynamical models ability to fully capture the physical and chemical history. The intensities predicted by the static model are comparable to those observed toward L1544.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2026

A differentiable and optimizable 3D model for interpretation of observed spectral data cubes

Molecular spectral cubes of prestellar cores encode the information on the physical and chemical properties of these objects along the line of sight. To retrieve this information, we need an interpretable model that reproduces the observed spectra. We designed a differentiable 3D geometrical model that produces synthetic observations from the parameterized density and velocity fields, and that can be efficiently optimized to reproduce the real data cubes. The model has been applied to p-NH2D and N2D+ spectral cubes in the prestellar core L1544. The optimized model suggests that to reproduce the observed velocity difference between p-NH2D and N2D+ in L1544, an asymmetric structure in density and velocity is necessary.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2026

Deuteration of HC3N and CH3CCH in the pre-stellar core L1544

Deuterated molecules are a useful diagnostic tool to probe the evolution and the kinematics in the earliest stages of star formation. Due to the low temperatures and high densities in the centre of pre-stellar cores, the deuterium fraction is enhanced by several orders of magnitude. We study the distribution of the emission and the deuteration of the two carbon chains HC3N and CH3CCH throughout the pre-stellar core L1544. We analyse emission maps of CH3CCH, CH2DCCH, CH3CCD, HC3N, HCC13CN, and DC3N, observed with the IRAM 30m single-dish radio telescope. We use non-LTE radiative transfer calculations, combined with chemical modelling of the molecular abundances, to constrain physical parameters of the observed species. Following this, we derive the column density and deuteration maps. We find D-fractions of N(DC3N)/N(HC3N)=0.04-0.07, N(CH2DCCH)/N(CH3CCH)=0.09-0.15, and N(CH3CCD)/N(CH3CCH)=0.07-0.09. The deuteration of HC3N appears homogeneous across the core, with widespread D-fraction values above 0.06, tracing intermediate-density gas in the outer layers of the core. CH3CCD is most efficiently formed in the higher-density regions towards the core centre, while the D-fraction of CH2DCCH traces a local density enhancement in the north-east of the core, coinciding with the CH3OH emission peak. The results suggest that gas-phase reactions dominate the formation and deuteration of both HC3N and CH3CCH in L1544, with spatial variations driven by physical structure, density and external radiation. The significantly higher D-fraction of CH2DCCH compared to CH3CCD and a tentative gradient with higher values in the north suggest different deuteration mechanisms for the two functional groups. Similarities between the CH2DCCH emission and CH2DOH might indicate an additional deuteration pathway of CH3CCH on the surfaces of dust grains, as observed for H2CO.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

High deuteration of methanol in L1544

Isotopic fractionation is a very powerful tool to follow the evolution of material from one stage to the next in the star-formation process. Pre-stellar cores exhibit some of the highest levels of deuteration because their physical conditions greatly favor deuteration processes. Deuteration maps are a measure of the effectiveness of the deuteration across the core, and they are useful to study both the deuteration as well as the formation mechanism of the main species. Methanol is the simplest O-bearing complex organic molecule (COM) detected in the interstellar medium (ISM). It represents the beginning of molecular complexity in star-forming regions, thus a complete understanding of its formation and deuteration is a necessary step to understand the development of further chemical complexity. In this paper, we use single-dish observations with the IRAM 30 m telescope and state-of-the-art chemical models to investigate the deuteration of methanol towards the prototypical pre-stellar core L1544. We also compare the results of the chemical models with previous observations of deuterated methanol towards the pre-stellar cores HMM1 and L694-2. The spectra extracted from the CHD$_2$OH map show that the emission is concentrated in the center and towards the north-west of the core. Using deep observations towards the dust and the methanol peaks of the core, we derive a very large deuterium fraction for methanol ($\sim20\%$) towards both peaks. The comparison of our observational results with chemical models has highlighted the importance of H-abstraction processes in the formation and deuteration of methanol. Deep observations combined with state-of-the-art chemical models are of fundamental importance in understanding the development of molecular complexity in the ISM. Our analysis also shows the importance of non-LTE effects when measuring the D/H ratios in methanol.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Hunting pre-stellar cores with APEX: overview

[Abridged] $Context.$ Pre-stellar cores are centrally concentrated starless cores on the verge of star formation and they represent the initial conditions for star and planet formation. Pre-stellar cores host an active organic chemistry and isotopic fractionation, kept stored into thick icy mantles, which can be inherited by the future protoplanetary disks and planetesimals. So far, only a few have been studied in detail, with special attention being paid to L1544 in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. $Aims.$ The aim is to identify nearby ($<$200 pc) pre-stellar cores in an unbiased way, to build a sample that can then be studied in detail. $Methods.$ We first used the Herschel Gould Belt Survey archival data, selecting all those starless cores with central H$_2$ number densities higher than or equal to 3$\times$10$^5$ cm$^{-3}$, the density of L1544 within the Herschel beam. The selected 40 (out of 1746) cores have then been observed in N$_2$H$^+$(3-2) and N$_2$D$^+$(4-3) using the APEX antenna. $Results.$ A total of 17 bona-fide (i.e., with a deuterium fraction larger than 10%) pre-stellar cores have been identified. Other 16 objects can also be considered pre-stellar, as they are dynamically evolved starless cores, but their deuterium fraction is relatively low ($<$10%). The remaining 7 objects have been found associated with very young stellar objects. $Conclusions.$ Dust continuum emission, together with spectroscopic observations of N$_2$H$^+$(3-2) and N$_2$D$^+$(4-3), is a powerful tool to identify pre-stellar cores in molecular clouds. Detailed modeling of the physical structure of the objects is now required for reconstructing the chemical composition as a function of radius. This work has provided a statistically significant sample of 33 pre-stellar cores, a crucial step in the understanding of the process of star and planet formation.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

High sensitivity molecular line observations towards the L1544 pre-stellar core challenge current models

The increased sensitivity and spectral resolution of observed spectra towards the pre-stellar core L1544 are challenging the current physical and chemical models. With the aim of further constraining the structure of L1544 as well as assessing the completeness of chemical networks, we turn to radiative transfer modelling of observed molecular lines towards this source. We obtained high-sensitivity and high-spectral resolution observations of HCO+ (J = 1 - 0), CS (J = 2 - 1), C34S (J = 2 - 1), H2CO (J ,Ka,Kc = 2,1,2 - 1,1,1), c-C3H2 (J,Ka,Kc = 2,1,2 - 1,0,1), SO (N,J = 2,3 - 1,2) and 34SO (N,J = 2,3 - 1,2) with the IRAM 30m telescope towards the dust peak of L1544. A non-Local Thermodynamic Equilibrium radiative transfer code is coupled to the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method to model the observations. We find that with just one transition for each isotope, the modelling cannot find a global minimum that fits the observations. The derived fractional abundance profiles are compared to those computed with chemical models. The observed transitions trace gas components with distinct dynamics at different distances along the radius of the core. Moreover, the results evidence a poor reproduction of sulphur chemistry by chemical modelling and stresses the need to include a more consistent S-depletion process to accurately reproduce the S-chemistry towards dense cores.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Chemical segregation analysed with unsupervised clustering

Molecular emission is a powerful tool for studying the physical and chemical structures of dense cores. The distribution and abundance of different molecules provide information on the chemical composition and physical properties in these cores. We study the chemical segregation of three molecules (c-C$_3$H$_2$, CH$_3$OH, CH$_3$CCH) in the starless cores B68 and L1521E, and the prestellar core L1544. We applied the density-based clustering algorithms DBSCAN and HDBSCAN to identify chemical and physical structures within these cores. To enable cross-core comparisons, the input samples were characterised based on their physical environment, discarding the 2D spatial information. The clustering analysis showed significant chemical differentiation across the cores, successfully reproducing the known molecular segregation of c-C$_3$H$_2$ and CH$_3$OH in all three cores. Furthermore, it identifies a segregation between c-C$_3$H$_2$ and CH$_3$CCH, which is not apparent from the emission maps. Key features driving the clustering are integrated intensity, velocity offset, H$_2$ column density, and H$_2$ column density gradient. Different environmental conditions are reflected in the variations in the feature relevance across the cores. This study shows that density-based clustering provides valuable insights into chemical and physical structures of starless cores. It demonstrates that already small datasets of two or three molecules can yield meaningful results. This new approach revealed similarities in the clustering patterns of CH$_3$OH and CH$_3$CCH relative to c-C$_3$H$_2$, suggesting that c-C$_3$H$_2$ traces regions of lower density than to the other two molecules. This allowed for insight into the CH$_3$CCH peak in L1544, which appears to trace a landing point of chemically fresh gas that is accreted to the core, highlighting the impact of accretion processes on molecular distributions.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Hunting pre-stellar cores with APEX: Corona Australis 151, the densest pre-stellar core or the youngest protostar?

Context. Pre-stellar cores are the birthplaces of Sun-like stars and represent the initial conditions for the assembly of protoplanetary systems. Due to their short lifespans, they are rare. In recent efforts to increase the number of such sources identified in the Solar neighbourhood, we have selected a sample of 40 starless cores from the publicly available core catalogs of the Herschel Gould Belt survey. In this work, we focus on one of the sources that stands out for its high central density: Corona Australis 151. Aims. We use molecular lines that trace dense gas (n>=10^6 cm-3) to confirm the exceptionally high density of this object, to study its physical structure, and to understand its evolutionary stage. Methods. We detected the N2H+ 3-2 and 5-4 transitions, and the N2D+ 3-2, 4-3, and 6-5 lines with the APEX telescope. We use the Herschel continuum data to infer a spherically symmetric model of the core's density and temperature. This is used as input to perform non-local-thermodynamic-equilibrium radiative transfer to fit the observed five lines. Results. Our analysis confirms that this core is characterised by very high densities (a few x 10^7 cm-3 at the centre) and cold temperatures. We infer a high deuteration level of N2D+/N2H+=0.50, indicative of an advanced evolutionary stage. In the large bandwidth covered by the APEX data, we detect several other deuterated species, including CHD2OH, D2CO, and ND3. We also detect multiple sulphurated species that present broader lines with signs of high-velocity wings. Conclusions. The observation of high-velocity wings and the fact that the linewidths of N2H+ and N2D+ become larger with increasing frequency can be interpreted either as an indication of supersonic infall motions developing in the central parts of a very evolved pre-stellar core or as the signature of outflows from a very low luminosity object (VeLLO). *SHORTENED*

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2025

Mapping Synthetic Observations to Prestellar Core Models: An Interpretable Machine Learning Approach

Observations of molecular lines are a key tool to determine the main physical properties of prestellar cores. However, not all the information is retained in the observational process or easily interpretable, especially when a larger number of physical properties and spectral features are involved. We present a methodology to link the information in the synthetic spectra with the actual information in the simulated models (i.e., their physical properties), in particular, to determine where the information resides in the spectra. We employ a 1D gravitational collapse model with advanced thermochemistry, from which we generate synthetic spectra. We then use neural network emulations and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), a machine learning technique, to connect the models' properties to the specific spectral features. Thanks to interpretable machine learning, we find several correlations between synthetic lines and some of the key model parameters, such as the cosmic-ray ionization radial profile, the central density, or the abundance of various species, suggesting that most of the information is retained in the observational process. Our procedure can be generalized to similar scenarios to quantify the amount of information lost in the real observations. We also point out the limitations for future applicability.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2025

Resolved Gas Temperatures and 12C/13C ratios in SVS13A from ALMA Observations of CH3CN and CH3-13-CN

Context. Multiple systems are common in field stars, and the frequency is found to be higher in early evolutionary stages. Thus, the study of young multiple systems during the embedded stages is key to have a comprehensive understanding of star formation. In particular, how material accretes from the large-scale envelope into the inner region and how this flow interacts with the system physically and chemically has not yet been well characterized observationally. Aims. We aim to provide a snapshot of the forming protobinary system SVS13A, consisting of VLA4A and VLA4B. This includes clear pictures of its kinematic structures, physical conditions, and chemical properties. Methods. We conducted ALMA observations toward SVS13A targeting CH3CN and CH3-13CN J=12-11 K-ladder line emission with a high spatial resolution of ~30 au at a spectral resolution of ~0.08 km s-1 Results. We perform LTE radiative transfer models to fit the spectral features of the line emission. We find the two-layer LTE radiative model including dust absorption is essential to interpret the CH3CN and CH3-13-CN line emission. We identify two major and four small kinematic components, and derive their physical and chemical properties. Conclusions. We find a possible infalling signature toward the bursting secondary source VLA4A, which may be fed by an infalling streamer from the large-scale envelope. The mechanical heating in the binary system, as well as the infalling shocked gas, likely play a role in the thermal structure of the protobinary system. By accumulating mass from the streamer, the system might have experienced a gravitationally unstable phase before the accretion outburst. Finally, the derived CH3CN/CH3-13-CN ratio is lower than the canonical ratio in the ISM and is different between VLA4A and VLA4B.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Hunting pre-stellar cores with APEX: IRAS16293E (Oph464)

Pre-stellar cores are the first steps in the process of star and planet formation. However, the dynamical and chemical evolution of pre-stellar cores is still not well understood. We aim at estimating the central density of the pre-stellar core IRAS16293E and at carrying out an inventory of molecular species towards the density peak of the core. We observed high-$J$ rotational transitions of N$_2$H$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$, and several other molecular lines towards the dust emission peak using the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope, and derived the density and temperature profiles of the core using far-infrared surface brightness maps from $Herschel$. The N$_2$H$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$ lines were analysed by non-LTE radiative transfer modelling. Our best-fit core model consists in a static inner region, embedded in an infalling envelope with an inner radius of approximately 3000 au (21" at 141 pc). The observed high-J lines of N$_2$H$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$ (with critical densities greater than 10$^6$ cm$^{-3}$) turn out to be very sensitive to depletion; the present single-dish observations are best explained with no depletion of N$_2$H$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$ in the inner core. The N$_2$D$^+$/N$_2$H$^+$ ratio that best reproduces our observations is 0.44, one of the largest observed to date in pre-stellar cores. Additionally, half of the molecules that we observed are deuterated isotopologues, confirming the high-level of deuteration towards this source. Non-LTE radiative transfer modelling of N$_2$H$^+$ and N$_2$D$^+$ lines proved to be an excellent diagnostic of the chemical structure and dynamics of a pre-stellar core. Probing the physical conditions immediately before the protostellar collapse is a necessary reference for theoretical studies and simulations with the aim of understanding the earliest stages of star and planet formation and the time scale of this process.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

Evolution of Chemistry in the envelope of HOt CorinoS (ECHOS) II. The puzzling chemistry of isomers as revealed by the HNCS/HSCN ratio

The observational detection of some metastable isomers in the interstellar medium with abundances comparable to those of the most stable isomer, or even when the stable isomer is not detected, highlights the importance of non-equilibrium chemistry. This challenges our understanding of the interstellar chemistry. We present a chemical study of isomers through the sulphur isomer pair HNCS and HSCN, since HSCN has been observed in regions where its stable isomer has not been detected, and the observed HNCS/HSCN ratio seems to significantly vary from cold to warm regions. We have used the Nautilus chemical code to model the formation and destruction paths of HNCS and HSCN in different astrochemical scenarios, and the time evolution of the HNCS/HSCN ratio. We have also analysed the influence of the environmental conditions on their chemical abundances. We present an observational detection of the metastable isomer HSCN in the Class I object B1-a, but not of the stable isomer HNCS, despite HNCS lying 3200 K lower in energy than HSCN. Our results show an HNCS/HSCN ratio sensitive to the gas temperature and the evolutionary time, with the highest values obtained at early stages (t<10^4 yr) and low (Tg<20 K) temperatures. The results suggest a different efficiency of the isomerisation processes depending on the source temperature. The progressive decrease of HNCS/HSCN with gas temperature at early evolutionary times indicates that this ratio may be used as a tracer of cold young objects. This work also demonstrates the key role of grain surface chemistry in the formation of the isomer pair HNCS and HSCN in cold regions, and the importance of the ions H2NCS+ and HNCSH+ in warm/hot regions. Since most of the interstellar regions where HSCN is detected are cold regions, a larger sample including sources characterised by high temperatures are needed to corroborate the theoretical results.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The cool brown dwarf Gliese 229 B is a close binary

Owing to their similarities with giant exoplanets, brown dwarf companions of stars provide insights into the fundamental processes of planet formation and evolution. From their orbits, several brown dwarf companions are found to be more massive than theoretical predictions given their luminosities and the ages of their host stars (e.g. Brandt et al. 2021, Cheetham et al. 2018, Li et al. 2023). Either the theory is incomplete or these objects are not single entities. For example, they could be two brown dwarfs each with a lower mass and intrinsic luminosity (Brandt et al. 2021, Howe et al. 2024). The most problematic example is Gliese 229 B (Nakajima et al. 1995, Oppenheimer et al. 1995), which is at least 2-6 times less luminous than model predictions given its dynamical mass of $71.4\pm0.6$ Jupiter masses ($M_{\rm Jup}$) (Brandt et al. 2021). We observed Gliese 229 B with the GRAVITY interferometer and, separately, the CRIRES+ spectrograph at the Very Large Telescope. Both sets of observations independently resolve Gliese 229 B into two components, Gliese 229 Ba and Bb, settling the conflict between theory and observations. The two objects have a flux ratio of $0.47\pm0.03$ at a wavelength of 2 $μ$m and masses of $38.1\pm1.0$ and $34.4\pm1.5$ $M_{\rm Jup}$, respectively. They orbit each other every 12.1 days with a semimajor axis of 0.042 astronomical units (AU). The discovery of Gliese 229 BaBb, each only a few times more massive than the most massive planets, and separated by 16 times the Earth-moon distance, raises new questions about the formation and prevalence of tight binary brown dwarfs around stars.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2024

Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular cloudS (GEMS). X. Observational effects of turbulence on the chemistry of molecular clouds

(Abridged) We explore the chemistry of the most abundant C, O, S, and N bearing species in molecular clouds, in the context of the IRAM 30 m Large Programme Gas phase Elemental abundances in Molecular Clouds (GEMS). In this work, we aim to assess the limitations introduced in the observational works when a uniform density is assumed along the line of sight for fitting the observations, developing a very simple numerical model of a turbulent box. We perform a MHD simulation in order to reproduce the turbulent steady-state of a turbulent box with properties typical of a molecular filament before collapse. We post-process the results of the MHD simulation with a chemical code to predict molecular abundances, and then post-process this cube with a radiative transfer code to create synthetic emission maps for a series of rotational transitions observed during the GEMS project. From the chemical point of view, we find that turbulence produces variations on the predicted abundances, but they are more or less critical depending on the chosen transition and the chemical age. When compared to real observations, the results from the turbulent simulation provides a better fit than when assuming a uniform gas distribution along the line of sight. In the view of our results, we conclude that taking into account turbulence when fitting observations might significantly improve the agreement with model predictions. This is especially important for sulfur bearing species that are very sensitive to the variations of density produced by turbulence at early times (0.1 Myr). The abundance of CO is also quite sensitive to turbulence when considering the evolution beyond a few 0.1 Myr.

astro-ph.GA↗

arXiv2024

The GRAVITY young stellar object survey XIV : Investigating the magnetospheric accretion-ejection processes in S CrA N

The dust- and gas-rich protoplanetary disks around young stellar systems play a key role in star and planet formation. While considerable progress has recently been made in probing these disks on large scales of a few tens of astronomical units (au), the central au needs to be more investigated. We aim at unveiling the physical processes at play in the innermost regions of the strongly accreting T Tauri Star S CrA N by means of near-infrared interferometric observations. The K-band continuum emission is well reproduced with an azimuthally-modulated dusty ring. As the star alone cannot explain the size of this sublimation front, we propose that magnetospheric accretion is an important dust-heating mechanism leading to this continuum emission. The differential analysis of the Hydrogen Br$γ$ line is in agreement with radiative transfer models combining magnetospheric accretion and disk winds. Our observations support an origin of the Br$γ$ line from a combination of (variable) accretion-ejection processes in the inner disk region.

astro-ph.SR↗