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Additional constraints on circumstellar disks in the Trapezium ClusterWe discuss new constraints on the population of compact ionized sources in the Trapezium Cluster thought to arise from the ionization by the central OB stars of circumstellar disks around low-mass pre-main sequence stars. We present new HST Planetary Camera observations of two of these candidate disk sources, resolving extended nebulosity around them. One source shows a small-scale (greater than 100 AU) bow-shock structure, previously seen on larger scales by O'Dell et al. We show that the circumstellar disk model is the most likely one for the majority of sources, although it remains plausible that some of the larger objects could be equilibrium globules. We combine the most complete censuses of compact radio sources and stars in the core region to derive the fraction of the stellar population that may be associated with a circumstellar disk. Our estimate of 25-75 percent is comparable to that found for PMS stars in the Taurus-Auriga dark clouds, indicating that the dense cluster environment of the Trapezium has not drastically reduced the frequency of disks seen around pre-main sequence stars.
Document ID
19960009741
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Stauffer, John R. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Prosser, Charles F. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Hartmann, Lee (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Mccaughrean, Mark J. (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics Cambridge, MA, United States)
Date Acquired
September 6, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1994
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
NAS 1.26:199323
NASA-CR-199323
Accession Number
96N16907
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAGW-2698
CONTRACT_GRANT: NAS5-26555
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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