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The SAO/ASIAA Submillimeter Array (SMA)
| Spatially Resolving Substructures within the Massive Protostellar Envelope in Orion |
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Image Credit: Takahashi, S., Saigo, K., Ho, P. T. P., and Tomida, K.
Highest angular resolution achieved with the SMA 850 micron continuum observations has revealed detailed spatial structures within a massive protostellar envelope, MMS 6.The observing data and detailed model comparisons clearly suggest that MMS 6 is one of the first cases of an intermediate-mass protostellar core at an extremely young stage.
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| Highest angular resolution achieved with the SMA 850 micron continuum observations (0.3 arcsec) has revealed detailed spatial structures within a massive protostellar envelope, MMS 6-main located in the Orion Molecular Cloud 3 region (left panel of the figure). The observing data show the extremely high column density (1.5x1010 cm-3) and warm gas (T > 52K) in the central 120 AU. Detailed model comparisons clearly show that the self-luminous source is necessary to explain the observed high flux density (right panel of the figure), suggesting that MMS 6 is one of the first cases of an intermediate-mass protostellar core at an extremely young stage. In addition to the central component, we have also spatially resolved a number of spiky structures and sub-clumps, distributed over the central 1000 AU (denoted as 1- 7 in the right panel of the figure). The masses of these sub-clumps are estimated to be 0.066-0.073 Msun, which are on the order of brown dwarf masses. These structures might be originated from fragmentations, spiral arms, or inhomogeneity within the disk-like structures/envelope. (Takahashi, S., Saigo, K., Ho, P. T. P., & Tomida, K., 2012, ApJ, 752, 10) |
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