MUNA Lunch Talk:

Adele Plunkett

Yale University

Assessing Molecular Outflows and Turbulence in Protostellar Clusters

October 13

12:10PM, Room 230, NRAO, Edgemont Road

Abstract:

Molecular outflows driven by protostellar cluster members likely impact their surroundings and contribute to turbulence, affecting subsequent star formation. I will present interferometer and single-dish millimeter-wavelength observations of molecular outflows in the young protostellar clusters NGC 1333 and Serpens South, probing scales that range from the sizes of cores to clouds. I will show the intricate web of outflow morphologies observed in these regions, characterize the outflow-driving protostellar sources, and reveal several outflow features that were previously unidentified in single-dish observations. In both regions, outflows drive enough energy to sustain turbulence, and in the case of the more evolved NGC 1333, the outflows may counter the gravitational potential energy and eventually disrupt the clump. These active regions provide a framework for an empirical model of clustered star formation at different evolutionary stages, and diagnostics from our observations help to constrain numerical models of outflows. Recent observations with ALMA and other facilities of these and other regions will further our understanding of the role of outflows throughout the star forming process.