Observations of protostellar systems across sub/millimeter wavelengths in nearby molecular clouds

Encalada, Francisco Jose

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127190 Copy

Description

Title

Observations of protostellar systems across sub/millimeter wavelengths in nearby molecular clouds

Author(s)

Encalada, Francisco Jose

Issue Date

2024-11-18

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Looney, Leslie W

Doctoral Committee Chair(s)

Looney, Leslie W

Committee Member(s)

• Gammie, Charles F
• Vieira, Joaquin
• Wong, Tony

Department of Study

Astronomy

Discipline

Astronomy

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Degree Level

Dissertation

Keyword(s)

astronomy : astrophysics : disks : protostellar disks : circumbinary disks : circumstellar disk : yso : young stellar objects : alma : sofia : ophiuchus : orion : class 0 : class I : r cra iras 32 : hops : iras 16293-2422

Abstract

In this thesis we present high-resolution observations of young stellar objects and protostellar systems using ALMA and SOFIA. We examine spatial structures, kinematics, and magnetic field morphologies across multiple (sub)millimeter wavelengths and molecular cloud environments. Our survey of the youngest protostars in rho Ophiuchus reveals lower masses and smaller radii for Class I and flat spectrum disks when compared to similar sources in Perseus and Orion, while the multiplicity statistics remained consistent across all three regions. We present the first high-resolution observations of the Class 0 protobinary system R CrA IRAS 32, concluding that (a) the circumstellar and circumbinary disks are aligned as expected in disk fragmentation, and (b) perhaps evidence for the funneling of gas between the binary components. Our multi-wavelength polarimetric study of IRAS 16293-2422 finds magnetic fields at 89 micron aligned with the East-West outflows which differs from longer wavelength observations, and we show a wavelength-dependent shift in dust emission peaks. Finally, we present preliminary results from a simple research survey at 1.3 mm of Class 0 binary protostellar systems in Orion A and B, showing that disk fragmentation alone is not sufficient to explain outflow-disk alignment. These studies advance our understanding of early stellar evolution, disk properties, magnetic field morphologies, and binary formation mechanisms in various nearby molecular clouds.

Graduation Semester

2024-12

Type of Resource

Thesis

Handle URL

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127190

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2024 Francisco Jose Encalada

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