The BLAST Survey of the Vela Molecular Cloud: Physical Properties of the Dense Cores in Vela-D

TL;DR

This study uses submillimeter and infrared data to analyze 141 dense cores in the Vela-D region, determining their physical properties and evolutionary stages, revealing a smooth transition from starless to proto-stellar phases.

Contribution

It provides a detailed characterization of dense cores in Vela-D using combined BLAST and Spitzer data, highlighting the transition from starless to proto-stellar stages.

Findings

Identified 141 dense cores in Vela-D region.

Established a correlation between MIPS24 flux and dust temperature in proto-stellar cores.

Found core mass function slope consistent with other surveys.

Abstract

The Balloon-borne Large-Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST) carried out a 250, 350 and 500 micron survey of the galactic plane encompassing the Vela Molecular Ridge, with the primary goal of identifying the coldest dense cores possibly associated with the earliest stages of star formation. Here we present the results from observations of the Vela-D region, covering about 4 square degrees, in which we find 141 BLAST cores. We exploit existing data taken with the Spitzer MIPS, IRAC and SEST-SIMBA instruments to constrain their (single-temperature) spectral energy distributions, assuming a dust emissivity index beta = 2.0. This combination of data allows us to determine the temperature, luminosity and mass of each BLAST core, and also enables us to separate starless from proto-stellar sources. We also analyze the effects that the uncertainties on the derived physical parameters of the individual sources have on the overall physical properties of starless and proto-stellar cores, and we find that there appear to be a smooth transition from the pre- to the proto-stellar phase. In particular, for proto-stellar cores we find a correlation between the MIPS24 flux, associated with the central protostar, and the temperature of the dust envelope. We also find that the core mass function of the Vela-D cores has a slope consistent with other similar (sub)millimeter surveys.