Search for Binary Protostars

In an effort to shed more light on the formation process of binary stars, we have started a program to study multiplicity among nearby low- and intermediate-mass protostars using the OVRO Millimeter Array. Here, we describe the project and present the first results on the protostellar core in the Bok globule CB230 (L1177). At 10 arcsec resolution, the molecular core is resolved into two components separated by 5000 AU. The morphology and kinematics of the double core suggest that it formed from a single cloud core due to rotational fragmentation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, ALMA conference proceeding

A close view on the protoplanetary disk in the Bok globule CB26

We present new sub-arcsecond-resolution near-infrared polarimetric imaging and millimetre interferometry data on the circumstellar disk system in the Bok globule CB26. The data imply the presence of a M > 0.01 M_sun edge-on disk of >400 AU in diameter, being in Keplerian rotation around a young ~0.35 M_sun star. The mm dust emission from the inner 200 AU is highly optically thick, but the outer parts are optically thin and made of small dust grains. Planetesimal growth in the inner disk could neither be comfirmed nor excluded. The outer optically thin part of the disk is strongly warped. We argue that the CB 26 disk is a very young protoplanetary disk and show that it is comparable to the early solar system.Comment: Conference proceeding "Origins of stars and planets: The VLT view", ESO, Garching, April 24-27 200

The circumstellar environment of the FU Orionis pre-outburst candidate V1331 Cygni

High resolution (~4") aperture synthesis maps of the CO (1→ 0), ^(13)CO (1→0), ^(13)CO (2→1), and asociated continuum emission from the FU Orions candidate V1331 Cygni reveal a massive, 0.5 ± 0.15 M_☉, circumstellar disk surrounded by a flattened gaseous envelope, 6000 x 4400 AU in size, mass >0.32 M_☉. These images and lower resolution measurements also trace a bipolar outflow and gaseous ring, 4.1 by 2.8 x 10^4 AU, mass greater than or equal to 0.07 M_☉, radially expanding at 22 ± 4 kms^(-1). We suggest this ring is a swept-up gaseous torus from an energetic mass ejection stage, possibly an FU Orionis outburst or outburts, ~4 x 10^3 yr ago that imparted >10^(45) ergs into the ambient cloud

The FU Orionis binary system RNO 1B/1C

Observations of CS (7→6) emission reveal a ≥3M_⊙ core, 1.8×10^4 AU in size, surrounding the FU Orionis binary system RNO 1B/1C. Fractional chemical abundances, calculated from LVG and LTE codes, are mostly similar to those in the cold core TMC 1. However, values for Si0/H_2 and CH_(3)0H/H_2 are enhanced, possibly by sputtering reactions or grain-grain collisions in tile outflow associated with the young stars. Aperture syntllesis maps of tile 2.6 and 3.1 mm continuum emission at ~5" and ~9" resolution, respectively, reveal that RNO 1C is surrounded by a flattened, dusty envelope, ~5000 AU in size, with mass ≥1.1 M_⊙. High spatial resolution (~3") interferometer observations of CS (2→1) emission may trace the dense walls of ail outflow cavity comprised of two concentric arcs with dynamical ages of 4×10^3 and 1×10^4 yr. The velocity structure of lower density gas imaged in the CO (1→0) transition is consistent with the arcs being formed by two energetic FU Orionis outbursts. Each event may have imparted more than 4 M_⊙km s^(-1) to the outflow, implying outburst mass loss rates of ~10^(-4) M_⊙ yr^(-1). It appears that RNO 1C is probably the driving source for the outflow and tllat, while pre-main sequence stars are in tile FU Orionis stage, outbursts may dominate both outflow morphology and energetics

Molecular clouds and star formation. I - Observations of the Cepheus OB3 molecular cloud

To determine the connection between newly formed stars and molecular clouds, observations were made in and around the young OB association Cepheus OB3 in the J = 1→0 transition of ^(12)CO. An extended (20 pc x 60 pc) molecular cloud was detected and mapped, and additional observations of ^(13)CO and H_2CO were made at selected positions. Moderately enhanced temperatures and densities were noted in several portions of the cloud. It appears that star formation is still continuing in the Cepheus OB3 complex

Chemistry in circumstellar disks: CS toward HL Tauri

High-resolution millimeter-wave aperture synthesis images of the CS J = 2 → 1 and dust continuum emission toward the young star HL Tauri have been combined with single-dish spectra of the higher J CS transitions in order to probe the chemical and physical structure of circumstellar material in this source. We find that the extended molecular cloud surrounding HL Tau is similar to other Taurus dark cloud cores, having T_(kinetic) ≈ 10-20 K, n_(H2) ≈ 10^4-10^5 cm^(-3) , and x(CS) = N(CS)/N(H_2) ≈ (1-2) x 10^(-8). In contrast, the gas-phase CS abundance in the circumstellar disk is depleted by factors of at least 25-50, and perhaps considerably more. These results are consistent with substantial depletion onto grains, or a transition from kinetically controlled chemistry in the molecular cloud to thermodynamically controlled chemistry in the outer regions of the circumstellar disk. Dust continuum emission at 3.06 mm, although unresolved in a 3".0 beam, appears centered on the stellar position; combined with other millimeter-wave measurements its intensity indicates an emissivity index of β = 1.2 ± 0.3. This β may reflect grain growth via depletion and aggregation or compositional evolution, and suggests that the 3.06 mm dust opacity exceeds unity within 8-10 AU of HL Tauri. Even at millimeter and submillimeter wavelengths, observational studies of other high dipole moment molecules in circumstellar disks may also be hampered by the combination of grain mantle depletion and dust opacity structure in sources viewed nearly edge-on

The Maine Learning Technology Initiative: What is the Impact on Teacher Beliefs and Instructional Practices

One of the strategies Maine is using in preparing youth for the future economy is a statewide program to provide every seventh and eighth grade student and their teachers with laptop computers, and to provide professional development and training for helping teachers integrate the laptops into their classroom instruction. This paper examines the impact that the distribution of laptops to teachers and students in Maine is having on the beliefs and instructional practices of those teachers who are involved in the program. Seventh grade teachers who received laptops in the 2002/2003 school year were the focus of this evaluation. Data from surveys, case studies, interviews and classroom observations has been examined in order to more closely identify the laptop initiative’s impact on teachers and teaching. Preliminary findings suggest that, since the implementation of the laptop program, the majority of teachers are taking tentative first steps toward implanting the laptops fully with existing curricula

Variation of Molecular Line Ratios and Cloud Properties in the Arp 299 Galaxy Merger

High resolution observations of 12CO (2.''3), 13CO (3.''9), and HCN (5.''4) J=1--0 in the galaxy merger Arp 299 (IC 694 and NGC 3690) show the line ratios vary dramatically across the system. The 12CO/13CO ratio is unusually large, 60 +- 15, at the IC 694 nucleus, where 12CO emission is very strong, and much smaller, 10 +- 3, in the southern extended disk of that galaxy. Elsewhere, the 12CO/13CO line ratio is 5-20, typical of spiral galaxies. The line ratio variation in the overlap between the two galaxies is smaller, ranging from 10 +- 3 in the east to 20 +- 4 in the west. The 12CO/HCN line ratio also varies across Arp 299, although to a lesser degree. HCN emission is bright towards each galaxy nucleus and in the extranuclear region of active star formation; it was not detected in the IC 694 disk, or the eastern part of the overlap region, leading to lower limits of 25 and 20 respectively. By contrast, at the nuclei of IC 694 and NGC 3690 the ratios are 9 +- 1 and 14 +- 3 respectively. In the western part of the overlap region it is 11 +- 3.Comment: 16 pages, 4 postscript figures, to appear in ApJ Letter