Disentangling the Environment of the FU Orionis Candidate HBC 722 with Herschel

TL;DR

This study uses Herschel Space Observatory data to analyze the environment of the FU Orionis candidate HBC 722, revealing a nearby submillimeter source, a bipolar outflow, and localized heating effects, providing insights into the star's surroundings.

Contribution

First multi-wavelength submillimeter analysis of HBC 722's environment, identifying the main emission sources, outflow structures, and heating effects with Herschel data.

Findings

Submillimeter source located 16 arcseconds from HBC 722

Detection of bipolar outflow likely driven by the submillimeter source

Presence of warm and hot CO emission indicating outflow-driven heating

Abstract

We analyze the submillimeter emission surrounding the new FU Orionis-type object, HBC 722. We present the first epoch of observations of the active environs of HBC 722, with imaging and spectroscopy from PACS, SPIRE, and HIFI aboard the Herschel Space Observatory, as well as CO J= 2-1 and 350 um imaging (SHARC-II) with the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. The primary source of submillimeter continuum emission in the region -- 2MASS 20581767+4353310 -- is located 16$\arcsec$ south-southeast of the optical flaring source while the optical and near-IR emission is dominated by HBC 722. A bipolar outflow extends over HBC 722; the most likely driver is the submillimeter source. We detect warm (100 K) and hot (246 K) CO emission in the surrounding region, evidence of outflow-driven heating in the vicinity. The region around HBC 722 itself shows little evidence of heating driven by the new outbursting source itself.