Protostars, multiplicity, and disk evolution in the Corona Australis region: A Herschel Gould Belt Study

TL;DR

This study uses Herschel observations to analyze protostars, disks, and multiplicity in the young Corona Australis star-forming region, revealing diverse disk structures and early star formation processes.

Contribution

First detailed Herschel PACS photometry and radiative transfer modeling of disks in the Corona Australis region, highlighting disk diversity and early evolution.

Findings

Detected a range of protostars and disk structures.

Identified disks with inner holes, gaps, and dust depletion.

Disks have lower masses than in Taurus, indicating early evolutionary stages.

Abstract

The CrA region and the Coronet cluster form a nearby (138 pc), young (1-2 Myr) star-forming region hosting a moderate population of YSO. We present Herschel PACS photometry at 100 and 160 micron, obtained as part of the Herschel Gould Belt Survey. The Herschel maps reveal the cluster members with high sensitivity and high dynamic range. Many of the cluster members are detected, including some embedded, very low-mass objects, several protostars, and substantial emission from the surrounding cloud. The Herschel data provide sufficient spatial resolution to detect small-scale details, such as bright filaments around the IRS5 protostar complex and a bubble-shaped rim associated with the Class I object IRS2. The disks around the Class II objects display a wide range of mid- and far-IR excesses consistent with different disk structures. We have modeled the disks using the RADMC radiative transfer code, finding an interesting mixture of objects for a young and presumably coeval cluster. Some of them are consistent with flared, massive, relatively primordial disks (SCrA, TCrA). Others display significant evidence for inside-out evolution, consistent with the presence of inner holes/gaps (G-85, G-87). Finally, we find disks with a dramatic small dust depletion (G-1, HBC677) that, in some cases, could be related to truncation or to the presence of large gaps in a flared disk (CrA-159). The derived masses for the disks around the low-mass stars are found to be below the typical values in Taurus, in agreement with previous Spitzer observations. Given the high degree of multiplicity and interactions observed among the protostars in the region, the diversity of disks may be a consequence of the early star formation history, which should also be taken into account when studying the disk properties in similar sparsely populated clusters.