Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013

Poster 1H023

Tracing Protostellar Envelope Evolution with HOPS, the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey

Fischer, Will (University of Toledo)
Megeath, Tom (University of Toledo)
Furlan, Elise (NHSC/IPAC/Caltech/NOAO)
Ali, Babar (NHSC/IPAC/Caltech)
Stutz, Amy (MPIA)
Booker, Joseph (University of Toledo)
Tobin, John (NRAO)
Stanke, Thomas (ESO)
Osorio, Mayra (Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía)

Abstract:
HOPS, the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey, is an unprecedented program of large surveys with the Herschel, Spitzer, Hubble, and APEX observatories, as well as near-IR observations from the IRTF and other telescopes. Together these are providing a comprehensive observational assessment of protostellar evolution, from the earliest phases (see poster by A. Stutz) through the dissipation of the protostellar envelope. The BLT (bolometric luminosity and temperature) diagram for the ∼300 HOPS protostars resembles those constructed for other nearby star-forming regions. We fit the 1-870 um SEDs of the protostars with our grid of radiative transfer models to determine their luminosities, envelope densities, cavity angles, and inclinations (see poster by E. Furlan). High-resolution HST images of the scattered light nebulae provide additional constraints on envelope density, disk geometry, cavity geometry, and inclination angle (see poster by J. Booker). Finally, near-IR atomic hydrogen lines provide independent estimates of reddening and accretion luminosity in the less embedded sources. This multi-pronged modeling approach provides a more reliable assessment of envelope evolution than raw observational diagnostics like the bolometric temperature. We will compare the distributions of envelope densities and protostellar luminosities to the predictions of star-formation models.

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