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Outflow–infall interactions as a mechanism for terminating accretion in protostars

Nature volume 392, pages 685–687 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

The formation of stars begins with the collapse of a dense interstellar cloud core to a protostar surrounded by a disk of gas and dust. Material in the envelope of the cloud core falls inwards to feed further growth of the protostar and its accretion disk. At some point during the accretion phase, an outflow of gas begins along the disk's rotation axis. Outflows have been studied in a large number of sources1, and recently it has become possible to study infall (and outflow) very close to the star2,3,4,5,6,7,8. But the possible interaction between these flows and its effect on the mass of the disk and the young star remain uncertain. Here we present observational evidence for an interaction between infalling and outflowing molecular gas. The opening angle of the outflow cone is largest near the star, indicating a widening of the outflow with time. Outside the lobes of the outflowing gas we see a narrow, disk-like region that is infalling. We suggest that the widening of the outflow may isolate the disk from further infall.

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Figure 1: An overview of the outflow–infall interaction in IRS1 in B5.
Figure 2: Selected channel maps of infall and outflow, with the velocities relative to VLSR indicated in each panel.
Figure 3: Time evolution of the outflow cones is shown on the integrated intensity map of the blue-shifted outflow lobe.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Caltech's OVRO staff for their assistance and support. The Owens Valley Radio Observatory millimeter-wave array is supported by the NSF. This research was conducted at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with NASA.

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  1. MS 169-506, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, 91109, California, USA

    T. Velusamy & W. D. Langer

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  1. T. Velusamy
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Correspondence to T. Velusamy.

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Velusamy, T., Langer, W. Outflow–infall interactions as a mechanism for terminating accretion in protostars. Nature 392, 685–687 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/33624

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