| Name | OT2_jkirk_3 |
| Title | An accurate mass measurement for prestellar cores |
| URL | http://archives.esac.esa.int/hsa/whsa-tap-server/data?retrieval_type=OBSERVATION&observation_id=1342250500&instrument_name=SPIRE&product_level=LEVEL0&compress=true |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-2ko243h |
| Author | kirk, j. |
| Description | Prestellar cores are crucial to our understanding of star formation. It is at this evolutionary stage that the stellar mass is set. If we are to understand the origin of the stellar IMF, we must therefore study the masses of the prestellar cores from which the stars are formed. There is currently a large uncertainty in the measured prestellar core mass that we obtain from far-IR and submillimetre observations. This uncertainty is caused by our inability to simultaneously determine the column density, temperature and dust emissivity index from photometric observations. Physical processes such as grain growth, or ice-mantle formation, which are affected by changes in density and temperature, will change the dust emissivity index. By simply taking a canonical value for the emissivity index, we cannot determine the correct mass for prestellar cores.The SPIRE FTS allows us to break this degeneracy for the first time, and simultaneously measure the column density, temperature and dust emissivity index, and therefore determine accurate masses. We propose to map 16 prestellar cores with the SPIRE FTS, and hence generate accurate maps of their column density. We will map each core using the full FTS field of view. We will be able to determine the absolute value of the dust emissivity index, and also see whether it varies across each of the cores. We have selected cores in different environments in order to study the core-to-core, and cloud-to-cloud variations in the dust properties. We will be able use this information about the relation between the three measured parameters, to more accurately determine masses for a much larger sample of cores for which only photometric data are available |
| Publication | |
| Instrument | SPIRE_SpireSpectrometer_ |
| Temporal Coverage | 2012-09-01T21:43:35Z/2013-02-02T22:13:09Z |
| Version | SPG v14.1.0 |
| Mission Description | Herschel was launched on 14 May 2009! It is the fourth cornerstone mission in the ESA science programme. With a 3.5 m Cassegrain telescope it is the largest space telescope ever launched. It is performing photometry and spectroscopy in approximately the 55-671 µm range, bridging the gap between earlier infrared space missions and groundbased facilities. |
| Creator Contact | https://support.cosmos.esa.int/h®erschel/ |
| Date Published | 2013-08-02T21:32:17Z |
| Last Update | 2026-03-02 |
| Keywords | Herschel Space Observatory data, ESA Herschel mission dataset, far-infrared astronomy observations, submillimeter astronomy data, infrared space telescope observations, PACS photometer data, PACS spectrometer data, SPIRE photometer data, SPIRE Fourier transform spectrometer data, HIFI heterodyne spectroscopy data, far-infrared spectroscopy dataset, submillimeter spectral line observations, cold universe observations dataset, star formation infrared data, molecular cloud far-infrared observations, interstellar medium spectroscopy data, protoplanetary disk infrared observations, galaxy evolution far-infrared data, dust emission submillimeter observations, cosmic infrared background measurements, extragalactic infrared survey data, calibrated level 2 data products, FITS files astronomy, spectral cubes far-infrared, flux-calibrated maps, continuum photometry data, spectral energy distribution measurements, ESA Herschel Science Archive data |
| Publisher And Registrant | European Space Agency |
| Credit Guidelines | European Space Agency, kirk et al., 2013, 'An accurate mass measurement for prestellar cores', SPG v14.1.0, European Space Agency, https://doi.org/10.5270/esa-2ko243h |