MUSTANG 3.3 Millimeter Continuum Observations of Class 0 Protostars

TL;DR

This study presents 3.3 mm observations of six Class 0 protostars, analyzing dust properties, emission contributions, and grain growth evidence, providing valuable data for understanding early star formation.

Contribution

First detailed 3.3 mm continuum measurements of Class 0 protostars with analysis of dust opacity and emission components, highlighting grain growth in disks.

Findings

Beta_mm ranges from 1.0 to 2.4 for Class 0 sources.

L1527's emission is disk-dominated with grain growth evidence.

L483 shows negligible disk emission at 3.3 mm.

Abstract

We present observations of six Class 0 protostars at 3.3 mm (90 GHz) using the 64-pixel MUSTANG bolometer camera on the 100-m Green Bank Telescope. The 3.3 mm photometry is analyzed along with shorter wavelength observations to derive spectral indices (S_nu ~ nu^alpha) of the measured emission. We utilize previously published dust continuum radiative transfer models to estimate the characteristic dust temperature within the central beam of our observations. We present constraints on the millimeter dust opacity index, beta, between 0.862 mm, 1.25 mm, and 3.3 mm. Beta_mm typically ranges from 1.0 to 2.4 for Class 0 sources. The relative contributions from disk emission and envelope emission are estimated at 3.3 mm. L483 is found to have negligible disk emission at 3.3 mm while L1527 is dominated by disk emission within the central beam. The beta_mm^disk <= 0.8 - 1.4 for L1527 indicates that grain growth is likely occurring in the disk. The photometry presented in this paper may be combined with future interferometric observations of Class 0 envelopes and disks.