Related papers: A Candidate Detection of the First Hydrostatic Cor…

(Abridged) Far-infrared Herschel-PACS spectra of 18 low-mass protostars of various luminosities and evolutionary stages are studied. We quantify their far-infrared line emission and the contribution of different atomic and molecular species…

We present the detection of 89 low surface brightness (LSB), and thus low stellar density galaxy candidates in the Perseus cluster core, of the kind named "ultra-diffuse galaxies", with mean effective V-band surface brightnesses 24.8-27.1…

The earliest stages of star and cluster formation are hidden within dense cocoons of gas and dust, limiting their detection at optical wavelengths. With the unprecedented infrared capabilities of JWST, we can now observe dust-enshrouded…

(Abridged) Water is a key tracer of dynamics and chemistry in low-mass protostars, but spectrally resolved observations have so far been limited in sensitivity and angular resolution. In this first systematic survey of spectrally resolved…

We have made an extensive 1.2mm continuum mosaicing study of the Cygnus X molecular cloud complex using the MAMBO cameras at the IRAM 30 m telescope. We then compared our mm maps with mid-IR images, and have made SiO(2-1) follow-up…

Dense low mass cores in nearby clouds like Taurus and Auriga are some of the simplest sites currently forming stars like our Sun. Because of their simplicity and proximity, dense cores offer the clearest view of the different phases of star…

The temperature and density structure of molecular cloud cores are the most important physical quantities that determine the course of the protostellar collapse and the properties of the stars they form. Nevertheless, density profiles often…

High dynamic range imaging of submillimeter dust emission from the envelopes of eight young protostars in the Taurus and Perseus star-forming regions has been carried out using the SCUBA submillimeter camera on the James Clerk Maxwell…

Low-mass dense cores represent the state of molecular gas associated with the earliest phases of low-mass star formation. Such cores are called "protostellar" or "starless," depending on whether they do or do not contain compact sources of…

Improving our understanding of the initial conditions and earliest stages of star formation is crucial to gain insight into the origin of stellar masses, multiple systems, and protoplanetary disks. We review the properties of low-mass dense…

We studied the gravitational collapse of a warm (~8000 K) primordial-gas cloud as a candidate progenitor for a supermassive star (SMS; >10^5 Msun) using a three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulation, including all the relevant cooling…

In this paper we present the results of a high resolution (5") CARMA and SZA survey of the 3mm continuum emission from 11 of the brightest (at 1.1mm) starless cores in the Perseus molecular cloud. We detect 2 of the 11 cores, both of which…

Exploring the structure and dynamics of cold starless clouds is necessary to understand the different steps leading to the formation of protostars. Because clouds evolve slowly, many of them must be studied in detail to pick up different…

Evaporation of water ice above 100 K in the inner few 100 AU of low-mass embedded protostars (the so-called hot core) should produce quiescent water vapor abundances of ~10^-4 relative to H2. Observational evidence so far points at…

Phosphorus is a crucial element for the development of life, but so far P-bearing molecules have been detected only in a few astrophysical objects, hence its interstellar chemistry is almost totally unknown. Here we show new detections of…

The filament IRDC G035.39--00.33 in the W48 molecular complex is one of the darkest infrared clouds observed by \textit{Spitzer}. It has been observed by the PACS (70 and 160\,$\micron$) and SPIRE (250, 350, and 500\,$\micron$) cameras of…

We report ALMA and VLA continuum observations that potentially identify the four youngest protostars in the Orion Molecular Clouds taken as part of the Orion VANDAM program. These are distinguished by bright, extended, irregular emission at…

Context. Pre-stellar cores are the birthplaces of Sun-like stars and represent the initial conditions for the assembly of protoplanetary systems. Due to their short lifespans, they are rare. In recent efforts to increase the number of such…

The first hydrostatic core (FHSC) phase is a brief stage in the protostellar evolution that is difficult to detect. Our goal is to characterize the chemical evolution of gas and dust during the formation of the FHSC. Moreover, we are…

We discuss the interstellar absorption from many atomic and molecular species seen in high-resolution $HST$/STIS UV and high-S/N optical spectra of the moderately reddened B3-5~V star HD~62542. This remarkable sight line exhibits both very…