Models for Dust and Molecular Emission of High-Mass Protostars

TL;DR

This paper develops detailed models of dust and molecular emission from high-mass protostars, comparing spherical and non-spherical envelope models with observational data to understand their formation processes.

Contribution

It introduces advanced modeling techniques for high-mass protostar envelopes, incorporating asymmetries and comparing with multi-wavelength observations.

Findings

Successful modeling of high-mass protostar envelopes using spherical symmetry.

Inclusion of asymmetries improves fit to observational data.

Models provide insights into the physical conditions of massive star formation.

Abstract

We present the results of a detailed modeling aimed to reproduce the spectral energy distribution (SED) of dust and molecular line emission of massive protostars under the hypothesis that they form via an accretion process. We model the emission originated in the infalling envelopes at scales smaller than 0.1 pc from the central protostar. To do that, we compared our model results with observational data covering a wide range of wavelengths, paying special attention to the high angular resolution mid-infrared data obtained with the Gemini Observatory and the ammonia line emission observed with the VLA at centimeter wavelengths. We have explored two kind of model envelopes. In the first kind of models, spherical symmetry is assumed and the SED as well as the ammonia emission of the infalling envelope are calculated. In this way, the temperature, density, velocity, velocity dispersion, and ammonia abundance variations along the core can be obtained. The second approach takes into account deviations from the spherical symmetry, and parameters such as the rotation, degree of elongation of the core, or inclination of the system can be constrained through the SED fitting. Using these two approaches we have been able to model the formation of massive stars with a degree of detail similar to that reached for the low mass stars.