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[62.16] Probing Pre-Protostellar Cores with Formaldehyde

K. E. Young, J.-E. Lee, N. J. Evans II (U. of Texas), P. F. Goldsmith (Cornell), S. D. Doty (Denison)

We present maps of the 6 cm and 1.3 mm transitions of H₂CO toward three cold, dense pre-protostellar cores: L1498, L1512, and L1544. The 6 cm transition is uniquely suited to probe high density gas at low temperature. Our models indicate that H₂CO is depleted in the interiors of PPCs. Depletion significantly affects how H₂CO probes the earliest stages of star formation. Multi-stage, self-consistent models, including gas--dust energetics, of both H₂CO transitions are presented, and the implications of the results discussed. This work was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the Research Corporation.

The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: kaisa@astro.as.utexas.edu

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 36 #2
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