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Title:
A Case Study of Low-Mass Star Formation
Authors:
Swift, Jonathan J.; Welch, William J.
Affiliation:
AA(Institute for Astronomy, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822-1897 ), AB(Department of Astronomy and Radio Astronomy Laboratory, University of California, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411)
Publication:
The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 174, Issue 1, pp. 202-222. (ApJS Homepage)
Publication Date:
01/2008
Origin:
UCP
ApJ Keywords:
ISM: Clouds, ISM: Individual: Alphanumeric: L1551, ISM: Structure, Radio Lines: ISM, Stars: Formation, Stars: Pre-Main-Sequence, Techniques: Interferometric
DOI:
10.1086/520846
Bibliographic Code:
2008ApJS..174..202S

Abstract

This article synthesizes observational data from an extensive program aimed toward a comprehensive understanding of star formation in a low-mass star-forming molecular cloud. New observations and published data spanning from the centimeter wave band to the near-infrared reveal the high- and low-density molecular gas, dust, and pre-main-sequence stars in L1551. The total cloud mass of ~160 Msolar contained within 0.9 pc has a dynamical timescale, tdyn=1.1 Myr. Thirty-five pre-main-sequence stars with masses from ~0.1 to 1.5 Msolar are selected to be members of the L1551 association constituting a total of 22+/-5 Msolar of stellar mass. The observed star formation efficiency, SFE=12%, while the total efficiency, SFEtot, is estimated to fall between 9% and 15%. L1551 appears to have been forming stars for several tdyn, with the rate of star formation increasing with time. Star formation has likely progressed from east to west, and there is clear evidence that another star or stellar system will form in the high column density region to the northwest of L1551 IRS 5. High-resolution, wide-field maps of L1551 in CO isotopologue emission display the structure of the molecular cloud at 1600 AU physical resolution. The 13CO emission clearly reveals the disruption of the ambient cloud by outflows in the line core and traces the interface between regions of outflow and quiescent gas in the line wings. Kinetic energy from outflows is being deposited back into the cloud on a physical scale λpeak~0.05 pc at a rate, E˙input~0.05 Lsolar. The remaining energy afforded by the full mechanical luminosity of outflow in L1551 destroys the cloud or is otherwise lost to the greater interstellar medium. The C18O emission is optically thin and traces well the turbulent velocity structure of the cloud. The total turbulent energy is close to what is expected from virial equilibrium. The turbulent velocities exist primarily on small scales in the cloud, and the energy spectrum of turbulent fluctuations, E(k)~k-β, is derived by various methods to have β~1-2. The turbulent dissipation rate estimated using the results of current numerical simulations is E˙diss~E˙input. This study reveals that stellar feedback is a significant factor in the evolution of the L1551 cloud.
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