The highly excited gas content in S68N

Supervisor: Odysseas Dionatos

Contact information: odysseas.dionatos@univie.ac.at 

Expected duration: 9 months

Project description & Goals:

Feedback processes from young stellar objects are considered to have a decisive influence on the evolution of molecular clouds through momentum and energy deposition on the ambient gas. The spatial and temporal (in terms of YSO evolution) limits of feedback, however, are still highly debated.  S68N is a region of Serpens Main star forming region with a high concentration of very young stellar objects (Class 0/I) that drive strong protostellar jets and outflows. The main goal of the project is to employ yet unpublished Herschel/PACS and SPIRE spectral maps of S68N in order to assess the protostellar feedback in the environment of the sub-cluster. Herschel line maps provide access to a uniquely wide range of excitation conditions, tracing the energy and momentum transfer between the protostellar ejecta tp the ambient gas.

Working plan & Milestones (including final thesis):

1. Introduction to S68N (literature) and Herschel, the payload instruments and data products. 
2. Herschel PACS & SPIRE observations of S68N: line identification, measure line fluxes (for all lines)
3. Line maps for each footprint, combined line maps for the region
4. LTE analysis for specific regions of interest
5. Temperature and density maps
6. Thesis writeup.

Requirements / special skills: 

Background in star formation, some background in pipeline/automated reduction & processing will be an asset.