A Detached Protostellar Disk around a $\sim$0.2$M_{\odot}$ protostar in a Possible Site of a Multiple Star Formation in a Dynamical Environment in Taurus

TL;DR

This study presents ALMA observations of a very low-luminosity protostar with a detached, rotating disk in Taurus, revealing a potentially late stage of low-mass star formation with unusually low accretion activity and challenging existing models.

Contribution

First detailed ALMA imaging of a detached, rotating disk around a low-luminosity protostar in a dynamic environment, suggesting a possible final stage of early star formation.

Findings

Detected a 10 AU rotating disk with low mass and accretion rate.

The disk appears detached from surrounding dense gas.

The protostar's low luminosity challenges standard evolutionary models.

Abstract

We report ALMA observations in 0.87 mm continuum and $^{12}$CO ($J$ = 3--2) toward a very low-luminosity ($<$0.1 $L_{\odot}$) protostar, which is deeply embedded in one of the densest core MC27/L1521F, in Taurus with an indication of multiple star formation in a highly dynamical environment. The beam size corresponds to $\sim$20 AU, and we have clearly detected blueshifted/redshifted gas in $^{12}$CO associated with the protostar. The spatial/velocity distributions of the gas show there is a rotating disk with a size scale of $\sim$10 AU, a disk mass of $\sim$10$^{-4}$ $M_{\odot}$ and a central stellar mass of $\sim$0.2 $M_{\odot}$. The observed disk seems to be detached from the surrounding dense gas, although it is still embedded at the center of the core whose density is $\sim$10$^{6}$ cm$^{-3}$. The current low-outflow activity and the very low luminosity indicate that the mass accretion rate onto the protostar is extremely low in spite of a very early stage of star formation. We may be witnessing the final stage of the formation of $\sim$0.2 $M_{\odot}$ protostar. However, we cannot explain the observed low luminosity with the standard pre-main-sequence evolutionary track unless we assume cold accretion with an extremely small initial radius of the protostar ($\sim$0.65 $R_\odot$). These facts may challenge our current understanding of the low mass star formation, in particular the mass accretion process onto the protostar and the circumstellar disk.