Dense Cores in Dark Clouds. V. CO Outflow

Sixteen dense cores in nearby dark clouds having associated low-mass stars were surveyed in the J = 1-0 line of ¹²CO at 2.6 mm, and seven were found to have CO outflow. These outflows are among the weakest known, with mass loss rates of less than 10^-8M_sun;yr^-1, similar to those of winds from T Tauri stars. The results presented here indicate that outflows in star-core systems are sufficiently frequent; last long enough; have sufficient available momentum and kinetic energy; and have enough evidence of outflow-core interaction, in order to be the main agent of core dispersal. If so, outflows play an important role in determining the main-sequence mass of low-mass stars.