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We present the results of the observations made within the ALMA Large Program called Early Planet Formation in Embedded disks of the Class 0 protostar GSS30 IRS3. Our observations included the 1.3 mm continuum with a resolution of 0″.05 (7.8 au) and several molecular species, including 12CO, 13CO, C18O, H2CO, and c-C3H2. The dust continuum analysis unveiled a disk-shaped structure with a major axis of ~200 au. We observed an asymmetry in the minor axis of the continuum emission suggesting that the emission is optically thick and the disk is flared. On the other hand, we identified two prominent bumps along the major axis located at distances of 26 and 50 au from the central protostar. The origin of the bumps remains uncertain and might be an embedded substructure within the disk or the temperature distribution and not the surface density because the continuum emission is optically thick. The 12CO emission reveals a molecular outflow consisting of three distinct components: a collimated component, an intermediate-velocity component exhibiting an hourglass shape, and a wider angle low-velocity component. We associate these components with the coexistence of a jet and a disk wind. The C18O emission traces both a circumstellar disk in Keplerian rotation and the infall of the rotating envelope. We measured a stellar dynamical mass of 0.35 ±0.09 M⊙. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Previous observations of the isolated Class 0 source B335 have presented evidence of ongoing infall in various molecular lines, such as HCO+, HCN, and CO. There have been no confirmed observations of a rotationally supported disk on scales greater than ~12 au. Aims. The presence of an outflow in B335 suggests that a disk is also expected to be present or undergoing formation. To constrain the earliest stages of protostellar evolution and disk formation, we aim to map the region where gas falls inwards and observationally constrain its kinematics. Furthermore, we aim to put strong limits on the size and orientation of any disk-like structure in B335. Methods. We used high angular resolution 13CO data from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and combined it with shorter-baseline archival data to produce a high-fidelity image of the infall in B335. We also revisited the imaging of high-angular resolution Band 6 continuum data to study the dust distribution in the immediate vicinity of B335. Results. Continuum emission shows an elliptical structure (10 by 7 au) with a position angle 5 degrees east of north, consistent with the expectation for a forming disk in B335. A map of the infall velocity (as estimated from the 13CO emission), shows evidence of asymmetric infall, predominantly from the north and south. Close to the protostar, infall velocities appear to exceed free-fall velocities. Three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer models, where the infall velocity is allowed to vary within the infall region, may explain the observed kinematics. Conclusions. The data suggest that a disk has started to form in B335 and that gas is falling towards that disk. However, kinematically-resolved line data towards the disk itself is needed to confirm the presence of a rotationally supported disk around this young protostar. The high infall velocities we measured are not easily reconcilable with a magnetic braking scenario, suggesting that there is a pressure gradient that allows the infall velocity to vary in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Clusters are common sites of star formation, whose members display varying degrees of mass segregation. The cause may be primordial or dynamical, or a combination both. If mass segregation were to be observed in a very young protostellar cluster, then the primordial case can be assumed more likely for that region. Aims. We investigated the masses and spatial distributions of pre-stellar and protostellar candidates in the young, low-mass star forming region Serpens South, where active star formation is known to occur along a predominant filamentary structure. Previous observations used to study these distributions have been limited by two important observational factors: (1) sensitivity limits that leave the lowest-mass sources undetected or (2) resolution limits that cannot distinguish binaries and/or cluster members in close proximity. Methods. Recent millimeter-wavelength interferometry observations can now uncover faint and/or compact sources in order to study a more complete population of protostars, especially in nearby (D < 500 pc) clusters. Here we present ALMA observations of 1 mm (Band 6) continuum in a 3 × 2 arcmin region at the center of Serpens South. Our angular resolution of ~1′′ is equivalent to ~400 au, corresponding to scales of envelopes and/or disks of protostellar sources. Results. We detect 52 sources with 1 mm continuum, and we measure masses of 0.002–0.9 solar masses corresponding to gas and dust in the disk and/or envelope of the protostellar system. For the deeply embedded (youngest) sources with no IR counterparts, we find evidence of mass segregation and clustering according to: the minimum spanning tree method, distribution of projected separations between unique sources, and concentration of higher-mass sources near to the dense gas at the cluster center. Conclusions. The mass segregation of the mm sources is likely primordial rather than dynamical given the young age of this cluster, compared with segregation time. This is the first case to show this for mm sources in a low-mass protostellar cluster environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We aim to study the causal link between the knotty jet structure in CARMA 7, a young Class 0 protostar in the Serpens South cluster, and episodic accretion in young protostellar disks. Methods. We used numerical hydrodynamics simulations to derive the protostellar accretion history in gravitationally unstable disks around solar-mass protostars. We compared the time spacing between luminosity bursts Δτmod, caused by dense clumps spiralling on the protostar, with the differences of dynamical timescales between the knots Δτobs in CARMA 7. Results. We found that the time spacing between the bursts have a bi-modal distribution caused by isolated and clustered luminosity bursts. The former are characterized by long quiescent periods between the bursts with Δτmod = a few×(103-104) yr, whereas the latter occur in small groups with time spacing between the bursts Δτmod = a few × (10-102) yr. For the clustered bursts, the distribution of Δτmod in our models can be fit reasonably well to the distribution of Δτobs in the protostellar jet of CARMA 7, if a certain correction for the (yet unknown) inclination angle with respect to the line of sight is applied. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test on the model and observational data sets suggests the best-fit values for the inclination angles of 55-80°, which become narrower (75-80°) if only strong luminosity bursts are considered. The dynamical timescales of the knots in the jet of CARMA 7 are too short for a meaningful comparison with the long time spacings between isolated bursts in our models. Moreover, the exact sequences of time spacings between the luminosity bursts in our models and knots in the jet of CARMA 7 were found difficult to match. Conclusions. Given the short time that has passed since the presumed luminosity bursts (tens to hundreds years), a possible overabundance of the gas-phase CO in the envelope of CARMA 7 compared to what could be expected from the current luminosity may be used to confirm the burst nature of this object. More sophisticated numerical models and observational data on jets with longer dynamical timescales are needed to further explore the possible causal link between luminosity bursts and knotty jets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observations of outflows in the star-forming region NGC 1333 using the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). We combined the 12CO and 13CO (1-0) CARMA mosaics with data from the 14 mFive College Radio Astronomy Observatory to probe the central, most dense, and active region of this protostellar cluster at scales from 5" to 7' (or 1000 AU to 0.5 pc at a distance of 235 pc).We map and identify 12CO outflows, and along with 13CO data we estimate their mass, momentum, and energy. Within the 7' ×7' map, the 5'' resolution allows for a detailed study of morphology and kinematics of outflows and outflow candidates, some of which were previously confused with other outflow emission in the region. In total, we identify 22 outflow lobes, as well as 9 dense circumstellar envelopes marked by continuum emission, of which 6 drive outflows. We calculate a total outflow mass, momentum, and energy within the mapped region of 6 Mʘ, 19 Mʘ km s-1, and 7 × 1044 erg, respectively. Within this same region, we compare outflow kinematics with turbulence and gravitational energy, and we suggest that outflows are likely important agents for the maintenance of turbulence in this region. In the earliest stages of star formation, outflows do not yet contribute enough energy to totally disrupt the clustered region where most star formation is happening, but have the potential to do so as the protostellar sources evolve. Our results can be used to constrain outflow properties, such as outflow strength, in numerical simulations of outflow-driven turbulence in clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]