We present measurements of proper motions and radial velocities of four powerful Herbig–Haro (HH) jets in the Carina nebula: HH 666, HH 901, HH 902, and HH 1066. Two epochs of Hubble Space Telescope ...imaging separated by a time baseline of ∼4.4 yr provide proper motions that allow us to measure the transverse velocities of the jets, while ground-based spectra sample their Doppler velocities. Together these yield full three-dimensional space velocities. Aside from HH 666, their identification as outflows was previously inferred only from morphology in images. Proper motions now show decisively that these objects are indeed jets, and confirm that the intermediate-mass protostars identified as the candidate driving sources for HH 666 and HH 1066 are indeed the origin of these outflows. The appearance of two new knots in the HH 1066 jet suggests recent (∼35 yr) changes in the accretion rate, underscoring the variable nature of accretion and outflow in the formation of intermediate-mass stars. In fact, kinematics and mass-ejection histories for all the jets suggest highly episodic mass loss, and point towards pronounced accretion fluctuations. Overall, we measure velocities similar to those found for low-mass protostars. However, the HH jets in Carina have higher densities and are more massive than their low-mass counterparts. Coarse estimates suggest that the heavy jets of intermediate-mass protostars can compete with or even exceed inject ∼10 or more times the cumulative momentum injection of lower mass protostars.
We analyse eight epochs of Hubble Space Telescope Halpha+N II imaging of chi Carinae's outer ejecta. Proper motions of nearly 800 knots reveal that the detected ejecta are divided into three apparent ...age groups, dating to around 1250 A.D., to around 1550 A.D., and to during or shortly before the Great Eruption of the 1840s. Ejecta from these groups reside in different locations and provide a firm constraint that chi Car experienced multiple major eruptions prior to the nineteenth century. The 1250 and 1550 events did not share the same axisymmetry as the Homunculus; the 1250 event was particularly asymmetric, even one-sided. In addition, the ejecta in the S ridge, which have been associated with the Great Eruption, appear to predate the ejection of the Homunculus by several decades. We detect essentially ballistic expansion across multiple epochs. We find no evidence for large-scale deceleration of the observed knots that could power the soft X-ray shell by ploughing into surrounding material, suggesting that the observed X-rays arise instead from fast, rarefied ejecta from the 1840s overtaking the older dense knots. Early deceleration and subsequent coasting cannot explain the origin of the older outer ejecta -- significant episodic mass loss prior to the nineteenth century is required. The time-scale and geometry of the past eruptions provide important constraints for any theoretical physical mechanisms driving chi Car's behaviour. Non-repeating mechanisms such as the merger of a close binary in a triple system would require additional complexities to explain the observations.
ABSTRACT
We present a detailed analysis of the protostellar outflow activity in the massive star-forming region NGC 3324, as revealed by new Early Release Observations (EROs) from the James Webb ...Space Telescope (JWST). Emission from numerous outflows is revealed in narrow-band images of hydrogen Paschen α (Paα) and molecular hydrogen. In particular, we report the discovery of 24 previously unknown outflows based on their H2 emission. We find three candidate driving sources for these H2 flows in published catalogues of young stellar objects (YSOs), and we identify 15 infrared point sources in the new JWST images as potential driving protostars. We also identify several Herbig–Haro (HH) objects in Paα images from JWST; most are confirmed as jets based on their proper motions measured in a comparison with previous Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Hα images. This confirmed all previous HST-identified HH jets and candidate jets, and revealed seven new HH objects. The unprecedented capabilities of JWST allow the direct comparison of atomic and molecular outflow components at comparable angular resolution. Future observations will allow quantitative analysis of the excitation, mass-loss rates, and velocities of these new flows. As a relatively modest region of massive star formation (larger than Orion but smaller than starburst clusters), NGC 3324 offers a preview of what star formation studies with JWST may provide.
Abstract
We present updated results constraining multiplicity demographics for the stellar population of the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC, a high-mass, high-density star-forming region), across primary ...masses 0.08–0.7
M
⊙
. Our study utilizes archival Hubble Space Telescope data obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys using multiple filters (GO-10246). Previous multiplicity surveys in low-mass, low-density associations like Taurus identify an excess of companions to low-mass stars roughly twice that of the Galactic field and find the mass ratio distribution consistent with the field. Previously, we found the companion frequency to low-mass stars in the ONC is consistent with the Galactic field over mass ratios = 0.6–1.0 and projected separations = 30–160 au, without placing constraints on the mass ratio distribution. In this study, we investigate the companion population of the ONC with a double point-spread function (PSF) fitting algorithm sensitive to separations larger than 10 au (0.″025) using empirical PSF models. We identified 44 companions (14 new), and with a Bayesian analysis we estimate the companion frequency to low-mass stars in the ONC = 0.13
−
0.03
+
0.05
and the index of the power-law fit to the mass ratio distribution = 2.08
−
0.85
+
1.03
over all mass ratios and projected separations of 10–200 au. We find the companion frequency in the ONC is consistent with the Galactic field population, likely from states of high transient stellar density, and a probability of 0.002 that it is consistent with that of Taurus. We also find the ONC mass ratio distribution is consistent with the field and Taurus, potentially indicative of its primordial nature, a direct outcome of the star formation process.
ABSTRACT
We present spectroscopy of individual stars in 26 Magellanic Cloud (MC) star clusters with the aim of estimating dynamical masses and V-band mass-to-light (M/LV) ratios over a wide range in ...age and metallicity. We obtained 3137 high-resolution stellar spectra with M2FS on the Magellan/Clay Telescope. Combined with 239 published spectroscopic results of comparable quality, we produced a final sample of 2787 stars with good quality spectra for kinematic analysis in the target clusters. Line-of-sight velocities measured from these spectra and stellar positions within each cluster were used in a customized expectation-maximization (EM) technique to estimate cluster membership probabilities. Using appropriate cluster structural parameters and corresponding single-mass dynamical models, this technique ultimately provides self-consistent total mass and M/LV estimates for each cluster. Mean metallicities for the clusters were also obtained and tied to a scale based on calcium IR triplet metallicities. We present trends of the cluster M/LV values with cluster age, mass, and metallicity, and find that our results run about 40 per cent on average lower than the predictions of a set of simple stellar population (SSP) models. Modified SSP models that account for internal and external dynamical effects greatly improve agreement with our results, as can models that adopt a strongly bottom-light IMF. To the extent that dynamical evolution must occur, a modified IMF is not required to match data and models. In contrast, a bottom-heavy IMF is ruled out for our cluster sample as this would lead to higher predicted M/LV values, significantly increasing the discrepancy with our observations.
Most stars and thus most planetary systems do not form in isolation. The larger star-forming environment affects protoplanetary disks in multiple ways: Gravitational interactions with other stars ...truncate disks and alter the architectures of exoplanet systems; external irradiation from nearby high-mass stars truncates disks and shortens their lifetimes; and the remaining gas and dust in the environment affect dynamical evolution (if removed by feedback processes) and provide some shielding for disks from external irradiation. The dynamical evolution of the region regulates when and how long various feedback mechanisms impact protoplanetary disks. Density is a key parameter that regulates the intensity and duration of UV irradiation and the frequency of dynamical encounters. The evolution of larger star-forming complexes may also play an important role by mixing populations. Observations suggest that clusters are not a single-age population but multiple populations with small age differences, which may be key to resolving several timescale issues (i.e., proplyd lifetimes, enrichment). In this review, we consider stellar clusters as the ecosystems in which most stars and therefore most planets form. We review recent observational and theoretical results and highlight upcoming contributions from facilities expected to begin observations in the next 5 years. Looking further ahead, we argue that the next frontier is large-scale surveys of low-mass stars in more distant high-mass star-forming regions. The future of ecosystem studies is bright as faint low-mass stars in more distant high-mass star-forming regions will be routinely observable in the era of extremely large telescopes.
Highly collimated parsec-scale jets, which are generally linked to the presence of an accretion disk, are commonly observed in low-mass young stellar objects. In the past two decades, a few of these ...jets have been directly (or indirectly) observed from higher-mass (larger than eight solar masses) young stellar objects, adding to the growing evidence that disk-mediated accretion also occurs in high-mass stars, the formation mechanism of which is still poorly understood. Of the observed jets from massive young stars, none is in the optical regime (massive young stars are typically highly obscured by their natal material), and none is found outside of the Milky Way. Here we report observations of HH 1177, an optical ionized jet that originates from a massive young stellar object located in the Large Magellanic Cloud. The jet is highly collimated over its entire measured length of at least ten parsecs and has a bipolar geometry. The presence of a jet indicates ongoing, disk-mediated accretion and, together with the high degree of collimation, implies that this system is probably formed through a scaled-up version of the formation mechanism of low-mass stars. We conclude that the physics that govern jet launching and collimation is independent of stellar mass.
HH 666 is an externally irradiated protostellar outflow in the Carina nebula for which we present new near-IR Fe ii spectra obtained with the Folded-Port Infrared Echellette spectrograph at Magellan ...Observatory. Earlier H α and near-IR Fe ii imaging revealed that the two emission lines trace substantially different morphologies in the inner ∼40 arcsec of the outflow. H α traces a broad cocoon that surrounds the collimated Fe ii jet that extends throughout the parent dust pillar. New spectra show that this discrepancy extends to their kinematics. Near-IR Fe ii emission traces steady, fast velocities of ±200 km s−1 from the eastern and western limbs of the jet. We compare this to a previously published H α spectrum that reveals a Hubble-flow velocity structure near the jet-driving source. New, second-epoch Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) H α images reveal the lateral spreading of the H α outflow lobe away from the jet axis. H α proper motions also indicate a sudden increase in the mass-loss rate ∼1000 yr ago, while steady Fe ii emission throughout the inner jet suggest that the burst is ongoing. An accretion burst sustained for ∼1000 yr is an order of magnitude longer than expected for FU Orionis outbursts, but represents only a small fraction of the total age of the HH 666 outflow. Altogether, available data suggests that Fe ii traces the highly collimated protostellar jet while H α traces the entrained and irradiated outflow. HH 666 appears to be a missing link between bare jets seen in H ii regions and entrained molecular outflows seen from embedded protostars in more quiescent regions.
ABSTRACT
We present new observations of the Mystic Mountains cloud complex in the Carina Nebula using the ALMA Atacama Compact Array (ACA) to quantify the impact of strong UV radiation on the ...structure and kinematics of the gas. Our Band 6 observations target CO, 13CO, and C18O; we also detect DCN J=3–2 and 13CS J=5–4. A dendrogram analysis reveals that the Mystic Mountains are a coherent structure, with continuous emission over −10.5 km s−1 < v < −2 km s−1. We perform multiple analyses to isolate non-thermal motions in the Mystic Mountains including computing the turbulent driving parameter, b, which indicates whether compressive or solenoidal modes dominate. Each analysis yields values similar to other pillars in Carina that have been observed in a similar way but are subject to an order of magnitude less intense ionizing radiation. We find no clear correlation between the velocity or turbulent structure of the gas and the incident radiation, in contrast to other studies targeting different regions of Carina. This may reflect differences in the initial densities of regions that go on to collapse into pillars and those that still look like clouds or walls in the present day. Pre-existing over-densities that enable pillar formation may also explain why star formation in the pillars appears more evolved (from the presence of jets) than in other heavily irradiated but non-pillar-like regions. High resolution observations of regions subject to an array of incident radiation are required to test this hypothesis.
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