Related papers: Probing Pre-Protosellar Cores with Formaldehyde

Understanding the depletion of heavy elements is a fundamental step towards determining the structure of pre-protostellar cores just prior to collapse. We study the dependence of the NO abundance on position in the pre-protostellar cores…

We report observations of the dust cloud L1204 with the Onsala 25-m telescope in the 6 cm (1$_{11}-1_{10}$) transition of \htco. The observed region includes the S140 H${\alpha}$ arc. This spectral line is seen here in absorption against…

The deuterium fractionation in starless cores gives us a clue to estimate their lifetime scales, thus allowing us to distinguish between different dynamical theories of core formation. Cores also seem to be subject to a differential N2 and…

We present new results on CO depletion in a sample of nearby pre-stellar cores, based on observations of the millimeter C17O and C18O lines and the 1.3 mm dust emission with the IRAM 30m telescope. In most cases, the distribution of CO is…

We report the detection of D2CO in a sample of starless dense cores, in which we previously measured the degree of CO depletion. The deuterium fractionation is found extremely high, [D2CO]/[H2CO] ~ 1-10 %, similar to that reported in…

Context: In the last years, the H2D+ and D2H+ molecules have gained great attention as probes of cold and depleted dense molecular cloud cores. These ions are at the basis of molecular deuterium fractionation, a common characteristic…

Physical conditions that could render a core starless(in the local Universe) is the subject of investigation in this work. To this end we studied the evolution of four starless cores, B68, L694-2, L1517B, L1689, and L1521F, a VeLLO. The…

Observations of dark cloud cores have been carried out in the mid-infrared using ISOCAM and in the far-infrared using ISOPHOT, both aboard the Infrared Space Observatory. The cores are in most cases detected in emission at 200 and 170…

The increased sensitivity and spectral resolution of observed spectra towards the pre-stellar core L1544 are challenging the current physical and chemical models. With the aim of further constraining the structure of L1544 as well as…

The structure in density and temperature of protoplanetary disks surrounding low-mass stars is not yet well known. The protoplanetary disks mid-planes are expected to be very cold and thus depleted in molecules in gas phase, especially CO.…

There is growing evidence that the properties of the molecular gas in the nuclei of starburst galaxies and in AGN may be very different from those seen in Galactic star forming regions and that a high kinetic temperature in the molecular…

Tracing dust in small dense molecular cores is a powerful tool to study the conditions required for ices to form during the pre-stellar phase. To study these environments, five molecular cores were observed: three with ongoing low-mass star…

Investigating the temperature and density structures of gas in massive protoclusters is crucial for understanding the chemical properties therein. In this study, we present observations of the continuum and thioformaldehyde (H2CS) lines at…

Recent observations of the pre-stellar core L1544 and the younger starless core L1498 have revealed that complex organic molecules (COMs) are enhanced in the gas phase toward their outer and intermediate-density shells. Our goal is to…

Cold cores in interstellar molecular clouds represent the very first phase in star formation. The physical conditions of these objects are studied in order to understand how molecular clouds evolve and how stellar masses are determined. The…

The gravitational lens toward B0218+357 offers the unique possibility to study cool moderately dense gas with high sensitivity and angular resolution in a cloud that existed half a Hubble time ago. Observations of the radio continuum and…

We have studied the physical and chemical properties of a quiescent starless core L1521E with various molecular lines. It is found that there exists a compact dense core traced by the H^13CO^+, HN^13C, CCS, and HC_3N lines; their…

Context. Low-mass star-forming cores differ from their surrounding molecular cloud in turbulence, shape, and density structure. Aims. We aim to understand how dense cores form out of the less dense cloud material by studying the connection…

Abridged: The thermal structure of a starless core is crucial for our understanding of the physics in these objects and hence for our understanding of star formation. Theory predicts a gas temperature drop in the inner 5000 AU of these…

We present a 3-mm and 1.3-cm spectral line survey conducted with the Mopra 22-m and Parkes 64-m radio telescopes of a sample of 40 cold dust cores, previously observed with BLAST, including both starless and proto-stellar sources. 20…