Radiative transfer models of non-spherical prestellar cores

• Main Authors: Stamatellos, D., Whitworth, A. P., Andre, P., Ward-Thompson, D.
• Other Authors: Département d'Astrophysique, de physique des Particules, de physique Nucléaire et de l'Instrumentation Associée (DAPNIA), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2004
• Subjects: [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO]; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00009363; https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20034546

16 pages, 22 figures, accepted by A&A, also available (with high resolution figures) at http://www.astro.cf.ac.uk/pub/Dimitrios.Stamatellos/publications/ We present 2D Monte Carlo radiative transfer simulations of prestellar cores. We consider two types of asymmetry: disk-like asymmetry, in which the core is denser towards the equatorial plane than towards the poles; and axial asymmetry, in which the core is denser towards the south pole than the north pole. We limit our treatment to cores with mild asymmetries, which are exposed directly to the interstellar radiation field or are embedded inside molecular clouds. The isophotal maps of a core depend strongly on the viewing angle. Maps at wavelengths longer than the peak of the SED (e.g. 850 micron) essentially trace the column-density. Thus, for instance, cores with disk-like asymmetry appear elongated when mapped at 850 micron from close to the equatorial plane. However, at wavelengths near the peak of the SED (e.g. 200 micron), the emissivity is more strongly dependent on the temperature, and therefore, at particular viewing angles, there are characteristic features which reflect a more complicated convolution of the density and temperature fields within the core. These characteristic features are on scales 1/5 to 1/3 of the overall core size, and so high resolution observations are needed to observe them. They are also weaker if the core is embedded in a molecular cloud (because the range of temperature within the core is then smaller), and so high sensitivity is needed to detect them. Herschel, to be launched in 2007, will in principle provide the necessary resolution and sensitivity at 170 to 250 micron.