[165.01] Spitzer Detection of a Very Low-Luminosity Infrared Source Embedded in the Taurus L1521F ``Prestellar'' Core

AAS 207th Meeting, 8-12 January 2006
Session 165 Young Stellar Clusters and Friends
Oral, Wednesday, 2:00-3:30pm, January 11, 2006, Balcony B

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[165.01] Spitzer Detection of a Very Low-Luminosity Infrared Source Embedded in the Taurus L1521F ``Prestellar'' Core

S. Terebey, A. Sullivan (Cal State Los Angeles), M. Fich (Univ. Waterloo), D. L. Padgett (Spitzer Science Center)

We report the detection of a low-luminosity ~0.02 L_o infrared source by the Spitzer Space Telescope in the L1521F ``prestellar core". The low-luminosity of the embedded class 0-like object suggests it may represent the early accretion phase of cloud-collapse, shortly after a hydrostatic object has formed but younger than the time scale typical of class 0 sources. Observations of C18O(2-1) emission by the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) indicate a compact (~ 20'') gaseous core centered on the 24 micron infrared position. The additional detection of HCN(3-2) emission at 265 GHz signifies that both high density (n ~ 10⁶~cm^-3) and warm gas (T > 25~K) are present, further indicating that the infrared source is embedded within the dense cloud core.

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