Sunbathing around protostars

Stars form in dense molecular clouds, where gas and dust are well-shielded from the interstellar UV radiation. Nonetheless, UV photons can be produced in situ in the surroundings of young protostars: either by the accretion of material onto the disk or its partial ejection in the powerful jets. Recent observations with the Herschel Space Telescope reveal that even relatively small UV fields dramatically alter the chemical composition of the gaseous envelopes. In my talk, I will show the main results from Herschel related to feedback from low-mass protostars. In particular, I will demonstrate that standard models of shocks do not agree with observations unless their irradiation by UV photons is included.

All interested persons are invited

Agnieszka Majczyna