The Disappearing Envelope around the Transitional Class I Object L43

TL;DR

This study uses interferometric and single-dish observations to investigate the structure and evolution of the protostellar object L43, revealing a disappearing envelope likely due to accretion processes.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the small-scale structure and dispersal of the protostellar envelope in L43 during the Class I to II transition.

Findings

The envelope shows a hole or low-density region within a few hundred AU.

Molecular outflows are observed to the north and south.

The envelope mass is comparable to the virial mass, indicating it is gravitationally bound.

Abstract

We present SMA interferometric observations of the 12CO J=2-1, 13CO (J=2-1), and C18O (J=2-1) lines and 225 GHz continuum emission and SMT single-dish observations of C18O (J=2-1) toward L43, a protostellar object in transition from Class I to II. The 225 GHz continuum emission shows a weak (~23.6 mJy), compact (<1000 AU) component associated with the central protostar. Our simulated observations show that it can be explained by dust thermal emission arising from an envelope which has a hole or a constant intensity region within a few hundred AU of the protostar. This suggests the disappearance or a lower concentration distribution of the envelope on a small scale. The 12CO and 13CO emission exhibit molecular outflows to the south and north. The C18O emission shows two molecular blobs, which correspond to the reflection nebulosity seen in near-infrared images, while there is no C18O emission associated with the protostar. The near-infrared features are likely due to the scattering at the positions of the blobs. The visible scattering features should result from the optical thinness of the envelope material, which is consistent with the less-concentrated distribution in the continuum emission. From single-dish observations, we found that the mass of the envelope (~1.5 Msun) + protostar (~0.5 Msun) is comparable with the virial mass of M_vir=1.0 Msun within 40 arcsec. This suggests that the envelope is likely gravitationally bound. We suggest that the protostellar envelope of L43 has been disappearing by consumption through accretion, at least in the close vicinity of the protostar.