Far-Infrared Spectral Energy Distributions of Embedded Protostars and Dusty Galaxies: I. Theory for Spherical Sources

TL;DR

This paper develops an analytic radiative transfer model for unresolved, spherically symmetric dusty sources, enabling the classification and inference of physical conditions in protostars and galaxies using spectral energy distributions (SEDs).

Contribution

It introduces a self-consistent analytic solution for SEDs based on two key parameters, avoiding reliance on templates and aiding in understanding density profiles across different astrophysical objects.

Findings

SEDs can be characterized by luminosity-to-mass ratio and surface density.

The model agrees well with numerical radiative transfer code (DUSTY).

Parameter space for inferring density profiles is identified.

Abstract

We present analytic radiative transfer solutions for the spectra of unresolved, spherically symmetric, centrally heated, dusty sources. We find that the dust thermal spectrum possesses scaling relations that provide a natural classification for a broad range of sources, from low-mass protostars to dusty galaxies. In particular, we find that, given our assumptions, spectral energy distributions (SEDs) can be characterized by two distance-independent parameters, the luminosity-to-mass ratio, $L/M$, and the surface density, $\Sigma$, for a set of two functions, namely, the density profile and the opacity curve. The goal is to use SEDs as a diagnostic tool in inferring the large-scale physical conditions in protostellar and extragalactic sources, and ultimately, evolutionary parameters. Our approach obviates the need to use SED templates in the millimeter to far-infrared region of the spectrum; this is a common practice in the extragalactic community that relies on observed correlations established at low redshift that may not necessarily extend to high redshift. Further, we demarcate the limited region of parameter space in which density profiles can be inferred from the SED, which is of particular import in the protostellar community as competing theories of star formation are characterized by different density profiles. The functionality of our model is unique in that in provides for a self-consistent analytic solution that we have validated by comparison with a well-tested radiative transfer code (DUSTY) to find excellent agreement with numerical results over a parameter space that spans low-mass protostars to ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGS).