The Small-Scale Physical Structure and Fragmentation Difference of Two Embedded Intermediate Mass Protostars in Orion

TL;DR

This study investigates the small-scale structures and fragmentation processes of two intermediate mass protostars in Orion, revealing differences in their fragmentation history and mass accretion patterns through high-resolution submillimeter observations.

Contribution

It provides detailed high-resolution analysis of two protostars, highlighting their fragmentation states and accretion histories, which advances understanding of intermediate mass star formation.

Findings

NGC 2071 experienced early fragmentation into three components.

L1641 S3 MMS 1 showed no fragmentation.

Most envelope material around NGC 2071 was accreted after initial fragmentation.

Abstract

Intermediate mass protostars, the bridge between the very common solar-like protostars and the more massive, but rarer, O and B stars, can only be studied at high physical spatial resolutions in a handful of clouds. In this paper we present and analyze the continuum results from an observing campaign at the Submillimeter Array targeting two well-studied intermediate mass protostars in Orion, NGC 2071 and L1641 S3 MMS 1. The extended SMA (eSMA) probes structure at angular resolutions up to 0.2", revealing protostellar disks on scales of 200 AU. Continuum flux measurements on these scales indicate that a significant amount of mass, a few tens of M{\odot}, are present. Envelope, stellar, and disk masses are derived using both compact, extended and eSMA configurations and compared against SED-fitting models. We hypothesize that fragmentation into three components occurred within NGC 2071 at an early time, when the envelopes were less than 10% of their current masses, e.g. < 0.5 M{\odot}. No fragmentation occurred for L1641 S3 MMS 1. For NGC 2071 evidence is given that the bulk of the envelope material currently around each source was accreted after the initial fragmentation. In addition, about 30% of the total core mass is not yet associated to one of the three sources. A global accretion model is favored and a potential accretion history of NGC 2071 is presented. It is shown that the relatively low level of fragmentation in NGC 2071 was stifled compared to the expected fragmentation from a Jean's argument.