= > in this proposal, more time is being requested for dwardtho.preprot = we propose to carry out isophot observations of a number of molecular cloud cores, which we have studied in the submm. we discovered submillimetre continuum emission from these cores for the first time. on the basis of our submillimetre observations we hypothesised that these cores are pre-stellar in nature, at an earlier evolutionary stage than the class 0 protostar stage. we proposed to observe these with phot in the first round of iso applications, and obtained priority 1 status from otac for our proposal. these observations have been taken by iso, but we have not yet received the data. we now wish to observe more cores in a different cloud region, namely taurus, as our original source list were all in and around the ophiuchus cloud region. the scientific aim of this proposal is then to compare different molecular cloud regions to test whether the manner in which pre-stellar cores evolve to protostars varies from cloud to cloud. we already have evidence, from submm bolometer array data taken at iram, that the taurus and ophiuchus regions represent different modes of star formation. in the case of ophiuchus we see probable clustered star formation, whereas taurus is at best an open cluster in the process of forming, or more likely an unbound association. we wish to test models of how pre-stellar cores evolve, to discern what effect the environment has on the manner of this evolution. iso presents a unique opportunity to test the specific predictions of models of ambipolar diffusion in low-mass star-forming regions such as these. in a parallel programme we are applying for scuba time to observe these cores in the submm. when the isophot observations are combined with our existing submm observation...s and our planned scuba observations, we will be able to test the detailed predictions of the different models of star formation and determine which, if any, is correct. for instance, our initial study has already shown that the power-law radial density profile of the standard model is incorrect.
Instrument
PHT32
Temporal Coverage
1997-08-29T02:19:53Z/1997-10-08T04:34:59Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was the world's first true orbiting infrared observatory. Equipped with four highly-sophisticated and versatile scientific instruments, it was launched by Ariane in November 1995 and provided astronomers world-wide with a facility of unprecedented sensitivity and capabilities for a detailed exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths.
