Identifying the VeLLOs in the Spitzer Gould's Belt Survey

  • Kim, Mi-Ryang (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) ;
  • Lee, Chang-Won (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) ;
  • Dunham, M. (Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas) ;
  • Allen, L. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) ;
  • Myers, Philip C. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics) ;
  • Evans, N. (Department of Astronomy, The University of Texas)
  • 발행 : 2010.10.06

초록

We present results of searching for the Very Low Luminosity Objects (VeLLOs; internal luminosity : $L_{int}$ < $0.1(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$) in the Gould's Belt clouds using observations from 3.6 to 70 micron by the Spitzer Space Telescope. The clouds are California, Chamaeleon I, III, Musca, Lupus V, VI, Scorpius, Serpens, Corona Australis, Cepheus, and IC 5146 having the properties of active low-mass star-forming such as the Taurus cloud. The observing sensitivity of the Spitzer data is estimated to be about $L_{int}\;\geq\;5\times10^{-3}(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$, a factor of 20 better than that of the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). The observing data were processed by the c2d Legacy pipeline. As the criteria to select the VeLLOs, we slightly modified previous ones by Dunham et al. The most important criterion is a flux density at 70 micron that is directly converted to the internal luminosity. Also, we used additional criteria to remove the contamination of evolved stars and extragalaxies which have colors or SEDs very similar to YSOs. We identified a total of 64 new embedded VeLLO candidates with $L_{int}$ < $0.1(d/140pc)^2\;L\odot$, consisting of 8 in California, 15 in Chamaeleon-Musca, 13 in Scorpius-Lupus, 20 in Serpens, 3 in Corona Australis, 3 in Cepheus, and 2 in IC 5146. The classification of the spectral index (${\alpha}$) fitted to the shape of the Ks-24 micron SEDs shows most of VeLLO candidates (89%) are in types of Class I and Flat spectrum. We plot various diagrams based on their 2MASS-Spitzer bands colors and magnitudes to discuss properties of the VeLLOs. This search will lead us new adventure toward a future systematic study of the VeLLOs.

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