Cloudlet Capture Model for Asymmetric Molecular Emission Lines Observed in TMC-1A with ALMA

TL;DR

This study models asymmetric molecular emission in TMC-1A as episodic cloudlet capture, using hydrodynamical simulations to explain observed blue-shifted emissions and infall velocities, suggesting a new perspective on protostellar accretion.

Contribution

The paper introduces a cloudlet capture model for asymmetric molecular emissions in protostars, supported by hydrodynamical simulations matching observations.

Findings

Simulations reproduce observed asymmetry with inclined cloudlet orbit.

Inclined orbit explains slow infall velocity in C18O emission.

Episodic accretion via cloudlet capture may be common in protostellar cores.

Abstract

TMC-1A is a protostellar source harboring a young protostar, IRAS 04365+2353, and shows a highly asymmetric features of a few 100 au scale in the molecular emission lines. Blue-shifted emission is much stronger in the CS ($J=5$-4) line than red-shifted one. The asymmetry can be explained if the gas accretion is episodic and takes the form of cloudlet capture, given the cloudlet approached toward us. The gravity of the protostar transforms the cloudlet into a stream and changes its velocity along the flow. The emission from the cloudlet should be blue-shifted before the periastron, while it should be red-shifted after the periastron. If a major part of cloudlet has not reached the periastron, the former should be dominant. We perform hydrodynamical simulations to examine the validity of the scenario. Our numerical simulations can reproduce the observed asymmetry if the orbit of the cloudlet is inclined to the disk plane. The inclination can explain the slow infall velocity observed in the C$^{18}$O ($J$=2-1) line emission. Such episodic accretion may occur in various protostellar cores since actual clouds could have inhomogeneous density distribution. We also discuss the implication of the cloudlet capture on observations of related objects.