Issue |
A&A
Volume 538, February 2012
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | A64 | |
Number of page(s) | 42 | |
Section | Interstellar and circumstellar matter | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201117781 | |
Published online | 03 February 2012 |
POISSON project
II. A multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric survey of young protostars in L 1641⋆,⋆⋆
1
Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
31 Fitzwilliam Place,
Dublin 2,
Ireland
e-mail: alessio@cp.dias.ie; tr@cp.dias.ie
2
Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie,
Auf dem Hügel 69,
53121
Bonn,
Germany
e-mail: rgarcia@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de
3
INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, via Frascati 33,
00040
Monte Porzio,
Italy
e-mail: antoniucci@oa-roma.inaf.it;
nisini@oa-roma.inaf.it; giannini@oa-roma.inaf.it;
lorenzetti@oa-roma.inaf.it
4
Thüringer Landessternwarte Tautenburg, Sternwarte 5,
07778
Tautenburg,
Germany
e-mail: jochen@tls-tautenburg.de
5
LERMA, Observatoire de Paris, Avenue de l’Observatoire 61,
75014
Paris,
France
e-mail: sylvie.cabrit@obspm.fr
Received:
28
July
2011
Accepted:
4
November
2011
Context. Characterising stellar and circumstellar properties of embedded young stellar objects (YSOs) is mandatory for understanding the early stages of the stellar evolution. This task requires the combination of both spectroscopy and photometry, covering the widest possible wavelength range, to disentangle the various protostellar components and activities.
Aims. As part of the POISSON project (Protostellar Optical-Infrared Spectral Survey On NTT), we present a multi-wavelength spectroscopic and photometric investigation of embedded YSOs in L 1641, aimed to derive the stellar parameters and evolutionary stages and to infer their accretion properties.
Methods. Our multi-wavelength database includes low-resolution optical-IR spectra from the NTT and Spitzer (0.6−40 μm) and photometric data covering a spectral range from 0.4 to 1100 μm, which allow us to construct the YSOs spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and to infer the main stellar parameters (visual extinction, spectral type, accretion, stellar, bolometric luminosity, mass accretion, and ejection rates).
Results. The NTT optical-NIR spectra are rich in emission lines, which are mostly associated with YSO accretion, ejection, and chromospheric activities. A few emission lines, prominent ice (H2O and CO2), and amorphous silicate absorption features have also been detected in the Spitzer spectra. The SED analysis allows us to group our 27 YSOs into nine Class I, eleven Flat, and seven Class II objects. However, on the basis of the derived stellar properties, only six Class I YSOs have an age of ~105 yr, while the others are older (5 × 105−106 yr), and, among the Flat sources, three out of eleven are more evolved objects (5 × 106−107 yr), indicating that geometrical effects can significantly modify the SED shapes. Inferred mass accretion rates (Ṁacc) show a wide range of values (3.6 × 10-9 to 1.2 × 10-5 M⊙ yr-1), which reflects the age spread observed in our sample well. Average values of mass accretion rates, extinction, and spectral indices decrease with the YSO class. The youngest YSOs have the highest Ṁacc, whereas the oldest YSOs do not show any detectable jet activity in either images and spectra. Apart from the outbursting source #25 and, marginally, #20, none of the remaining YSOs is accretion-dominated (Lacc > L∗). We also observe a clear correlation among the YSO Ṁacc, M∗, and age. For YSOs with t > 105 yr and 0.4 M⊙ ≤ M∗ ≤ 1.2 M⊙, a relationship between Ṁacc and t (Ṁacc ∝ t-1.2) has been inferred, consistent with mass accretion evolution in viscous disc models and indicating that the mass accretion decay is slower than previously assumed. Finally, our results suggest that episodic outbursts are required for Class I YSOs to reach typical classical T Tauri stars stellar masses.
Key words: stars: evolution / accretion, accretion disks / stars: formation / ISM: jets and outflows / surveys / infrared: stars
Partially based on observations collected at the European Southern Observatory La Silla, Chile, 082.C-0264(A), 082.C-0264(B).
Appendix B is available in electronic form at http://www.aanda.org
© ESO, 2012
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