First results from CaLYPSO: the IRAM Plateau de Bure Large Program on Class 0 protostars. A dive into the small-scale physics and chemistry of young envelopes, disks and outflows. Anaelle Maury ESO Headquarters, Garching, Germany
Despite some progress in the past two decades, the physics of the youngest protostars (Class 0 objects) remains poorly understood. The mere existence of accretion disks and protobinaries at the Class 0 stage is highly controversial. Likewise, the launching mechanism of protostellar jets and their net contribution to mass and angular momentum extraction during protostar formation is strongly debated. The complex velocity and density structure shaping the inner protostellar environment is also a great puzzle to star formation models. Solving these issues, which all have a strong bearing on the long-standing “angular momentum problem” of star formation, is of paramount importance. To this aim, we obtained a comprehensive, systematic study of the nearest low-luminosity Class 0 objects with the A & C arrays of PdBI, also supported by a parallel MHD simulation effort. The CaLYPSO (Continuum and Line Young ProtoStellar Object) survey, carried out with both the IRAM 30-m telescope and Plateau de Bure Interferometer, targets 17 nearby Class 0 protostars in 3 different spectral setups, at subarcsecond resolutions reaching ~50AU scales. It is the most complete high-resolution survey of Class 0 objects carried out so far. I will present our first completed set of observations, and I will discuss the complementarity of continuum observations and line tracers to draw a comprehensive picture of the small scale infall/accretion processes in Class 0 envelopes. I will also show how our observations allow us to put unprecedented constraints on inner (50-500 AU) envelope properties and chemistry, as well as the disk formation scenario.
Collaborators: Ph. Andre, CEA Saclay, France S. Maret, IPAG, France F. Gueth, IRAM, France C. Codella, INAF, Italy S. Cabrit, LERMA, France A. Belloche, MPIfR, Germany A. Bacman, IPAG, France R. Launhardt, MPIA, Germany B. Lefloch, IPAG, France S. Botinelli, CESR, France R. Klessen, Heidelberg, Germany C. Dullemond, MPIA, Germany