The Serpens South protocluster: The power of SOFIA/FORCAST in studies of protostars
Abstract
The Serpens South protocluster is among the youngest known cluster of protostars. Using SOFIA, we observed the core of this cluster with FORCAST, detecting more than two dozen protostars within a single field of view. Including observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Herschel Space Observatory, infrared spectral energy distributions are constructed for cluster members and the content of the cluster illuminated. We demonstrate a technique to estimate, using only FORCAST observations, the internal luminosities of protostars reliable to within 30-40% for 67% of protostars and to within a factor of 2.3-2.6 for 99% of protostars, comparable to the reliability achieved with Spitzer and Herschel observations that probe a greater fraction of the emission. FORCAST is a powerful instrument for luminosity studies of protostars. Its dynamic range and greater angular resolution enable FORCAST to discover and characterize protostars that were either saturated or merged with other sources in previous surveys.
- Publication:
-
42nd COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- July 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018cosp...42E1508H