A submillimeter search for pre- and proto-brown dwarfs in Chamaeleon II

Context. Chamaeleon II molecular cloud is an active star forming region that offers an excellent opportunity for studying the formation of brown dwarfs in the southern hemisphere. Aims. Our aims are to identify a population of pre- and proto- brown dwarfs (5 sigma mass limit threshold of ~0.015 Msun) and provide information on the formation mechanisms of substellar objects. Methods. We performed high sensitivity observations at 870 microns using the LABOCA bolometer at the APEX telescope towards an active star forming region in Chamaeleon II. The data are complemented with an extensive multiwavelength catalogue of sources from the optical to the far-infrared to study the nature of the LABOCA detections. Results. We detect fifteen cores at 870 microns, and eleven of them show masses in the substellar regime. The most intense objects in the surveyed field correspond to the submillimeter counterparts of the well known young stellar objects DK Cha and IRAS 12500-7658. We identify a possible proto-brown dwarf candidate (ChaII-APEX-L) with IRAC emission at 3.6 and 4.5 microns. Conclusions. Our analysis indicates that most of the spatially resolved cores are transient, and that the point-like starless cores in the sub-stellar regime (with masses between 0.016 Msun and 0.066 Msun) could be pre-brown dwarfs cores gravitationally unstable if they have radii smaller than 220 AU to 907 AU (1.2" to 5" at 178 pc) respectively for different masses. ALMA observations will be the key to reveal the energetic state of these pre-brown dwarfs candidates.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

A search for pre- and proto-brown dwarfs in the dark cloud Barnard 30 with ALMA

In this work we present ALMA continuum observations at 880 $\mu$m of 30 sub-mm cores previously identified with APEX/LABOCA at 870$\mu$m in the Barnard 30 cloud. The main goal is to characterize the youngest and lowest mass population in the cloud. As a result, we report the detection of five (out of 30) spatially unresolved sources with ALMA, with estimated masses between 0.9 and 67 M$_{\rm Jup}$. From these five sources, only two show gas emission. The analysis of multi-wavelength photometry from these two objects, namely B30-LB14 and B30-LB19, is consistent with one Class II- and one Class I low-mass stellar object, respectively. The gas emission is consistent with a rotating disk in the case of B30-LB14, and with an oblate rotating envelope with infall signatures in the case of LB19. The remaining three ALMA detections do not have infrared counterparts and can be classified as either deeply embedded objects or as starless cores if B30 members. In the former case, two of them (LB08 and LB31) show internal luminosity upper limits consistent with Very Low Luminosity objects, while we do not have enough information for LB10. In the starless core scenario, and taking into account the estimated masses from ALMA and the APEX/LABOCA cores, we estimate final masses for the central objects in the substellar domain, so they could be classified as pre-BD core candidates.Comment: Published in A&

A proto brown dwarf candidate in Taurus

Aims. We search for brown dwarfs at the Class 0/I evolutionary stage, or proto brown dwarfs. Methods. We present a multi wavelength study, ranging from optical at 0.8 μm to radio wavelengths at 6 cm, of a cool, very faint, and red multiple object, SSTB213 J041757, detected by Spitzer toward the Barnard 213 dark cloud, in Taurus. Results. The SED of SSTB213 J041757 displays a clear excess at long wavelengths resembling that of a Class I object. The mid-IR source has two possible counterparts, A and B, in the near-IR and optical images, and the 350 μm observations detect clear extended emission, presumably from an envelope around the two sources. The position of A & B in the (Ic− J) versus (J − [3.6]) colour-colour diagram is consistent with them being Galactic sources and not extragalactic contaminants. A proper-motion study confirms this result for A, while it is inconclusive for B. The temperature and mass of the two possible central objects, according to COND evolutionary models, range between 1550−1750 K and 3−4 M_(Jupiter), and 950−1300 K and 1−2 M_(Jupiter), for A and B, respectively. The integrated SED provides bolometric temperatures and luminosities of 280 K and 0.0034 L_⊙, assuming that the emission at wavelengths > 5 μm is associated with component A, and 150 K and 0.0033 L_⊙, assuming that the emission at wavelengths > 5 μm is associated with component B, which would imply the SSTB213 J041757 object has a luminosity well below the luminosity of other very low luminosity objects discovered up to date. Conclusions. With these characteristics, SSTB213 J041757 seems to be a promising, and perhaps double, proto brown dwarf candidate

Chondrites from the Atacama Desert

Accepted versio

Diagnosis and numerical simulations of a heavy rain event in the Western Mediterranean Basin

International audienceThe heavy rain event of November 2001 in the western Mediterranean area was synoptically characterized by the presence of a long-lived Omega blocking geopotential pattern. A set of mesoscale numerical simulations using MM5 is performed to investigate the mechanisms responsible for the convection development through several output diagnosis. A potential vorticity evolution showed how dry air masses were extruded from the stratospheric levels promoting strong cyclonic circulation at all levels. Moreover, a deep vertical column of high relative humidity over the Algerian coastline maintained the few and geographically confined convective cells responsible for the heavy precipitation. Mesoscale environment parameters indicated enhanced conditional instability through a deep troposphere layer. Also, strong vertical wind shear values, higher than 50 ms?1 over the troposphere, were derived, indicating enough strength to promote necessary conditions to organize and keep mesoscale convective structures

Chemistry of dense clumps near moving Herbig-Haro objects

Localised regions of enhanced emission from HCO+, NH3 and other species near Herbig-Haro objects (HHOs) have been interpreted as arising in a photochemistry stimulated by the HHO radiation on high density quiescent clumps in molecular clouds. Static models of this process have been successful in accounting for the variety of molecular species arising ahead of the jet; however recent observations show that the enhanced molecular emission is widespread along the jet as well as ahead. Hence, a realistic model must take into account the movement of the radiation field past the clump. It was previously unclear as to whether the short interaction time between the clump and the HHO in a moving source model would allow molecules such as HCO+ to reach high enough levels, and to survive for long enough to be observed. In this work we model a moving radiation source that approaches and passes a clump. The chemical picture is qualitatively unchanged by the addition of the moving source, strengthening the idea that enhancements are due to evaporation of molecules from dust grains. In addition, in the case of several molecules, the enhanced emission regions are longer-lived. Some photochemically-induced species, including methanol, are expected to maintain high abundances for ~10,000 years.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Systematic Molecular Differentiation in Starless Cores

(Abridged) We present evidence that low-mass starless cores, the simplest units of star formation, are systematically differentiated in their chemical composition. Molecules including CO and CS almost vanish near the core centers, where the abundance decreases by one or two orders of magnitude. At the same time, N2H+ has a constant abundance, and the fraction of NH3 increases toward the core center. Our conclusions are based on a study of 5 mostly-round starless cores (L1498, L1495, L1400K, L1517B, and L1544), which we have mappedin C18O(1-0), C17O(1-0), CS(2-1), C34S(2-1), N2H+(1-0), NH3(1,1) and (2,2), and the 1.2 mm continuum. For each core we have built a model that fits simultaneously the radial profile of all observed emission and the central spectrum for the molecular lines. The observed abundance drops of CO and CS are naturally explained by the depletion of these molecules onto dust grains at densities of 2-6 10^4 cm-3. N2H+ seems unaffected by this process up to densities of several 10^5, while the NH3 abundance may be enhanced by reactions triggered by the disappearance of CO from the gas phase. With the help of our models, we show that chemical differentiation automatically explains the discrepancy between the sizes of CS and NH3 maps, a problem which has remained unexplained for more than a decade. Our models, in addition, show that a combination of radiative transfer effects can give rise to the previously observed discrepancy in the linewidth of these two tracers. Although this discrepancy has been traditionally interpreted as resulting from a systematic increase of the turbulent linewidth with radius, our models show that it can arise in conditions of constant gas turbulence.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures, accepted by Ap

First detection of thermal radio jets in a sample of proto-brown dwarf candidates

We observed with the JVLA at 3.6 and 1.3 cm a sample of 11 proto-brown dwarf candidates in Taurus in a search for thermal radio jets driven by the most embedded brown dwarfs. We detected for the first time four thermal radio jets in proto-brown dwarf candidates. We compiled data from UKIDSS, 2MASS, Spitzer, WISE and Herschel to build the Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) of the objects in our sample, which are similar to typical Class~I SEDs of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). The four proto-brown dwarf candidates driving thermal radio jets also roughly follow the well-known trend of centimeter luminosity against bolometric luminosity determined for YSOs, assuming they belong to Taurus, although they present some excess of radio emission compared to the known relation for YSOs. Nonetheless, we are able to reproduce the flux densities of the radio jets modeling the centimeter emission of the thermal radio jets using the same type of models applied to YSOs, but with corresponding smaller stellar wind velocities and mass-loss rates, and exploring different possible geometries of the wind or outflow from the star. Moreover, we also find that the modeled mass outflow rates for the bolometric luminosities of our objects agree reasonably well with the trends found between the mass outflow rates and bolometric luminosities of YSOs, which indicates that, despite the "excess" centimeter emission, the intrinsic properties of proto-brown dwarfs are consistent with a continuation of those of very low mass stars to a lower mass range. Overall, our study favors the formation of brown dwarfs as a scaled-down version of low-mass stars.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, 14 tables, accepted by the Astrophysical Journa