EPoS Contribution
EPoS Contribution
Investigating outflow and cloud energetics in Ophiuchus and other GBS clouds

Emily Drabek-Maunder
ICL, London, UK
Molecular outflows are critical in understanding the early conditions of stellar formation, influencing both the final stellar mass and surrounding environment of the molecular cloud. We present 12CO, 13CO and C18O J=3-2 data of the main Ophiuchus molecular cloud (L1688) from the Gould Belt Legacy Survey (GBS) using the JCMT. The physical characteristics of the cloud have been examined, including the excitation temperatures and optical depths. Using calculations of the mass and energetics, the Ophiuchus cloud appears to be gravitationally bound. An individual molecular outflow analysis on 30 Class 0/I protostars confirmed 8 sources with corresponding outflows. The mass, momentum, and energy of the global outflows were also calculated and compared to the cloud mass and energetics, indicating outflows drive less than 20 per cent of the turbulent kinetic energy and are not a significant driver of turbulence in Ophiuchus. This comparison of the outflow energy and cloud turbulence has been expanded to the other nearby Gould Belt clouds (i.e. Ophiuchus, Serpens, Orion and Perseus), investigating the significance of outflow energy driving turbulence in star forming regions.
Caption: Image of a molecular hydrogen H2 2.122 micron map of the L1688 Ophiuchus cloud centred on the Oph A clump. Blue and red contours denote blue and redshifted 12CO integrated intensities indicative of high velocity emission from bipolar outflows. Contours are at 3, 5, 10, 15, 30 and 45 K km/s. Protostellar sources are denoted by "x". H2 knots, used to provide evidence for source outflows are labelled as green triangles.
Collaborators:
G. White, OU, UK
J. Hatchell,Exeter, UK
J. Buckle, Cambridge, UK
E. Curtis, Cambridge, UK
S. Graves, JAC, US
J. Richer, Cambridge, UK
Suggested Session: Protostellar Outflows