300: An ACA 870 $\mu$m Continuum Survey of Orion Protostars and their Evolution

TL;DR

This survey of 300 Orion protostars using ACA and ALMA data reveals how the 870 μm flux ratio evolves from envelope-dominated to disk-dominated stages, serving as an extinction-independent evolutionary indicator.

Contribution

The study provides high-resolution continuum data and introduces the 12 m/ACA flux ratio as a new, inclination-insensitive evolutionary metric for protostars.

Findings

Class 0 protostars are envelope-dominated with ratios <0.5.

Flat Spectrum protostars are mainly disk-dominated with ratios near 1.

80% of mass is accreted during the envelope-dominated phase.

Abstract

We present an 870 $\mu$m continuum survey of 300 protostars from the Herschel Orion Protostar Survey using the Atacama Compact Array (ACA). These data measure protostellar flux densities on envelope scales $\leq$8000 au (20") and resolve the structure of envelopes with 1600 au (4") resolution, a factor of 3-5 improvement in angular resolution over existing single-dish 870 $\mu$m observations. We compare the ACA observations to Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 12 m array observations at 870 $\mu$m with $\sim$0.1 (40 au) resolution. Using the 12 m data to measure the fluxes from disks and the ACA data within 2500 au to measure the combined disk plus envelope fluxes, we calculate the 12 m/ACA 870 $\mu$m flux ratios. Our sample shows a clear evolution in this ratio. Class 0 protostars are mostly envelope-dominated with ratios $<$0.5. In contrast, Flat Spectrum protostars are primarily disk-dominated with ratios near 1, although with a number of face-on protostars dominated by their envelopes. Class I protostars span the range from envelope to disk-dominated. The increase in ratio is accompanied by a decrease in the envelope fluxes and estimated mass infall rates. We estimate that 80$\%$ of the mass is accreted during the envelope-dominated phase. We find that the 12 m/ACA flux ratio is an evolutionary indicator that largely avoids the inclination and foreground extinction dependence of spectral energy distribution-based indicators.