NRAO/Socorro Colloquium Series

Hector G. Arce

American Museum of Natural History


Protostellar Outflows and Their Influence on the Star Formation Environment


As a star forms by gravitational infall, it energetically expels mass in a bipolar jet. Outflows deposit energy and momentum into their surroundings and have a considerable impact on the dynamics, distribution, and chemical composition of the gas in star forming clouds. Outflows from low-mass young stellar objects originate within a few AU (or less) of the forming star and may reach linear sizes of a few parsecs. Thus, outflows interact with a variety of environments in the interstellar medium, from the high-density envelope surrounding the protostar to the low-density atomic medium surrounding the parent molecular cloud. I will discuss how we assess the physical and chemical impact protostellar outflows have on their surroundings at different distances from the source, using multi-wavelength observations. In particular, I will show the results of a recent millimeter interferometer study of the interaction between outflows and infalling circumstellar envelopes. It is in this region that outflows may have the strongest effect on the star formation process.






February 16, 2007
11:00 a.m. MT

Array Operations Center Auditorium

All NRAO employees are invited to attend via video, available in Charlottesville Room 230, Green Bank Room 137 and Tucson 525.

Local Host: Debra Shepherd