Signs of Early-Stage Disk Growth Revealed with ALMA

TL;DR

This study uses ALMA observations to detect early signs of disk growth around protostars, revealing how disk size and mass evolve during the Class 0 and I stages, supporting inside-out collapse models.

Contribution

It provides new observational evidence of disk growth in early protostellar stages and quantifies the relationship between disk radius, protostellar mass, and age.

Findings

Detection of a 100 AU Keplerian disk in Lupus 3 MMS

Signs of infall and rotation in IRAS 15398-3559 and IRAS 16253-2429

Disk radius increases with protostellar mass and age, indicating growth

Abstract

We present ALMA 1.3 mm continuum, 12CO, C18O, and SO data for the Class 0 protostars, Lupus 3 MMS, IRAS 15398-3559, and IRAS 16253-2429 at resolutions of ~100 AU. By measuring a rotational profile in C18O, a 100 AU Keplerian disk around a 0.3 Msun protostar is observed in Lupus 3 MMS. No 100 AU Keplerian disks are observed in IRAS 15398-3559 and IRAS 16253-2429. Nevertheless, embedded compact (<30 AU) continuum components are detected. The C18O emission in IRAS 15398-3559 shows signatures of infall with a constant angular momentum. IRAS 16253-2429 exhibits signatures of infall and rotation, but its rotational profile is unresolved. By fitting the C18O data with our kinematic models, the protostellar masses and the disk radii are inferred to be 0.01 Msun and 20 AU in IRAS 15398-3559, and 0.03 Msun and 6 AU in IRAS 16253-2429. By comparing the specific angular momentum profiles from 10,000 to 100 AU in 8 Class 0 and I protostars, we find that the evolution of envelope rotation can be described with conventional inside-out collapse models. In comparison with a sample of 18 protostars with known disk radii, our results reveal signs of disk growth, with the disk radius increasing as M*^{0.8+/-0.14} or t^{1.09+\-0.37} in the Class 0 stage, where M* is the protostellar mass and t is the age. The disk growth rate slows down in the Class I stage. Besides, we find a hint that the mass accretion rate declines as t^{-0.26+\-0.04} from the Class 0 to I stages.