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The magnetic field of a molecular cloud core may play a role in the formation of circumstellar disks in the core. We present magnetic field morphologies in protostellar cores of 16 targets in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array large program “Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk),” which resolved their disks with 7 au resolutions. The 0.1 pc scale magnetic field morphologies were inferred from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope POL-2 observations. The mean orientations and angular dispersions of the magnetic fields in the dense cores are measured and compared with the radii of the 1.3 mm continuum disks and the dynamically determined protostellar masses from the eDisk program. We observe a significant correlation between the disk radii and the stellar masses. We do not find any statistically significant dependence of the disk radii on the projected misalignment angles between the rotational axes of the disks and the magnetic fields in the dense cores, nor on the angular dispersions of the magnetic fields within these cores. However, when considering the projection effect, we cannot rule out a positive correlation between disk radii and misalignment angles in three-dimensional space. Our results suggest that the morphologies of magnetic fields in dense cores do not play a dominant role in the disk formation process. Instead, the sizes of protostellar disks may be more strongly affected by the amount of mass that has been accreted onto star+disk systems, and possibly other parameters, for example, magnetic field strength, core rotation, and magnetic diffusivity.

 

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the binary Class 0 protostellar system BHR 71 IRS1 and IRS2 as part of the Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk) ALMA Large Program. We describe the¹²CO (J= 2–1),¹³CO (J= 2–1), C¹⁸O (J= 2–1), H₂CO (J= 3_2,1–2_2,0), and SiO (J= 5–4) molecular lines along with the 1.3 mm continuum at high spatial resolution (∼0.″08 or ∼5 au). Dust continuum emission is detected toward BHR 71 IRS1 and IRS2, with a central compact component and extended continuum emission. The compact components are smooth and show no sign of substructures such as spirals, rings, or gaps. However, there is a brightness asymmetry along the minor axis of the presumed disk in IRS1, possibly indicative of an inclined geometrically and optically thick disk-like component. Using a position–velocity diagram analysis of the C¹⁸O line, clear Keplerian motions were not detected toward either source. If Keplerian rotationally supported disks are present, they are likely deeply embedded in their envelope. However, we can set upper limits of the central protostellar mass of 0.46M_⊙and 0.26M_⊙for BHR 71 IRS1 and BHR 71 IRS2, respectively. Outflows traced by¹²CO and SiO are detected in both sources. The outflows can be divided into two components, a wide-angle outflow and a jet. In IRS1, the jet exhibits a double helical structure, reflecting the removal of angular momentum from the system. In IRS2, the jet is very collimated and shows a chain of knots, suggesting episodic accretion events.

 

We have comprehensively studied the multiscale physical properties of the massive infrared dark cloud G28.34 (the Dragon cloud) with dust polarization and molecular line data from Planck, FCRAO-14 m, James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. We find that the averaged magnetic fields of clumps tend to be either parallel with or perpendicular to the cloud-scale magnetic fields, while the cores in clump MM4 tend to have magnetic fields aligned with the clump fields. Implementing the relative orientation analysis (for magnetic fields, column density gradients, and local gravity), velocity gradient technique, and modified Davis–Chandrasekhar–Fermi analysis, we find that G28.34 is located in a trans-to-sub-Alfvénic environment; the magnetic field is effectively resisting gravitational collapse in large-scale diffuse gas, but is distorted by gravity within the cloud and affected by star formation activities in high-density regions, and the normalized mass-to-flux ratio tends to increase with increasing density and decreasing radius. Considering the thermal, magnetic, and turbulent supports, we find that the environmental gas of G28.34 is in a supervirial (supported) state, the infrared dark clumps may be in a near-equilibrium state, and core MM4-core4 is in a subvirial (gravity-dominant) state. In summary, we suggest that magnetic fields dominate gravity and turbulence in the cloud environment at large scales, resulting in relatively slow cloud formation and evolution processes. Within the cloud, gravity could overwhelm both magnetic fields and turbulence, allowing local dynamical star formation to happen.

 

Young protostellar binary systems, with expected ages less than ∼10⁵yr, are little modified since birth, providing key clues to binary formation and evolution. We present a first look at the young, Class 0 binary protostellar system R CrA IRAS 32 from the Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks ALMA large program, which observed the system in the 1.3 mm continuum emission,¹²CO (2−1),¹³CO (2−1), C¹⁸O (2−1), SO (6₅−5₄), and nine other molecular lines that trace disks, envelopes, shocks, and outflows. With a continuum resolution of ∼0.″03 (∼5 au, at a distance of 150 pc), we characterize the newly discovered binary system with a separation of 207 au, their circumstellar disks, and a circumbinary disklike structure. The circumstellar disk radii are 26.9 ± 0.3 and 22.8 ± 0.3 au for sources A and B, respectively, and their circumstellar disk dust masses are estimated as 22.5 ± 1.1M_⊕and 12.4 ± 0.6M_⊕, respectively. The circumstellar disks and the circumbinary structure have well-aligned position angles and inclinations, indicating formation in a smooth, ordered process such as disk fragmentation. In addition, the circumstellar disks have a near/far-side asymmetry in the continuum emission, suggesting that the dust has yet to settle into a thin layer near the midplane. Spectral analysis of CO isotopologues reveals outflows that originate from both of the sources and possibly from the circumbinary disklike structure. Furthermore, we detect Keplerian rotation in the¹³CO isotopologues toward both circumstellar disks and likely Keplerian rotation in the circumbinary structure; the latter suggests that it is probably a circumbinary disk.

 

We performed radiative transfer calculations and observing simulations to reproduce the 1.3 mm dust-continuum and C¹⁸O (2–1) images in the Class I protostar R CrA IRS7B-a, observed with the ALMA Large Program “Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk).” We found that a dust disk model passively heated by the central protostar cannot reproduce the observed peak brightness temperature of the 1.3 mm continuum emission (∼195 K), regardless of the assumptions about the dust opacity. Our calculation suggests that viscous accretion heating in the disk is required to reproduce the observed high brightness temperature. The observed intensity profile of the 1.3 mm dust-continuum emission along the disk minor axis is skewed toward the far side of the disk. Our modeling reveals that this asymmetric intensity distribution requires flaring of the dust along the disk vertical direction with the scale height followingh/r∼r^0.3as a function of radius. These results are in sharp contrast to those of Class II disks, which show geometrically flat dust distributions and lower dust temperatures. From our modeling of the C¹⁸O (2–1) emission, the outermost radius of the gas disk is estimated to be ∼80 au, which is larger than that of the dust disk (∼62 au), to reproduce the observed distribution of the C¹⁸O (2–1) emission in IRS 7B-a. Our modeling unveils a hot and thick dust disk plus a larger gas disk around one of the eDisk targets, which could be applicable to other protostellar sources in contrast to more evolved sources.

 

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the Class I source Oph IRS 63 in the context of the Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks large program. Our ALMA observations of Oph IRS 63 show a myriad of protostellar features, such as a shell-like bipolar outflow (in¹²CO), an extended rotating envelope structure (in¹³CO), a streamer connecting the envelope to the disk (in C¹⁸O), and several small-scale spiral structures seen toward the edge of the dust continuum (in SO). By analyzing the velocity pattern of¹³CO and C¹⁸O, we measure a protostellar mass ofM_⋆= 0.5 ± 0.2M_⊙and confirm the presence of a disk rotating at almost Keplerian velocity that extends up to ∼260 au. These calculations also show that the gaseous disk is about four times larger than the dust disk, which could indicate dust evolution and radial drift. Furthermore, we model the C¹⁸O streamer and SO spiral structures as features originating from an infalling rotating structure that continuously feeds the young protostellar disk. We compute an envelope-to-disk mass infall rate of ∼10⁻⁶M_⊙yr⁻¹and compare it to the disk-to-star mass accretion rate of ∼10⁻⁸M_⊙yr⁻¹, from which we infer that the protostellar disk is in a mass buildup phase. At the current mass infall rate, we speculate that soon the disk will become too massive to be gravitationally stable.

 

We present ALMA dust polarization and molecular line observations toward four clumps (I(N), I, IV, and V) in the massive star-forming region NGC 6334. In conjunction with large-scale dust polarization and molecular line data from JCMT, Planck, and NANTEN2, we make a synergistic analysis of relative orientations between magnetic fields (θ_B), column density gradients (θ_NG), local gravity (θ_LG), and velocity gradients (θ_VG) to investigate the multi-scale (from ∼30 to 0.003 pc) physical properties in NGC 6334. We find that the relative orientation betweenθ_Bandθ_NGchanges from statistically more perpendicular to parallel as column density ($N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$) increases, which is a signature of trans-to-sub-Alfvénic turbulence at complex/cloud scales as revealed by previous numerical studies. Becauseθ_NGandθ_LGare preferentially aligned within the NGC 6334 cloud, we suggest that the more parallel alignment betweenθ_Bandθ_NGat higher$N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$is because the magnetic field line is dragged by gravity. At even higher$N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$, the angle betweenθ_Bandθ_NGorθ_LGtransits back to having no preferred orientation, or statistically slightly more perpendicular, suggesting that the magnetic field structure is impacted by star formation activities. A statistically more perpendicular alignment is found betweenθ_Bandθ_VGthroughout our studied$N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$range, which indicates a trans-to-sub-Alfvénic state at small scales as well, and this signifies that magnetic field has an important role in the star formation process in NGC 6334. The normalized mass-to-flux ratio derived from the polarization-intensity gradient (KTH) method increases with$N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$, but the KTH method may fail at high$N_{{\mathrm{H}}_2}$due to the impact of star formation feedback.

 

Precise estimates of protostellar masses are crucial to characterize the formation of stars of low masses down to brown dwarfs (BDs;M_*< 0.08M_☉). The most accurate estimation of protostellar mass uses the Keplerian rotation in the circumstellar disk around the protostar. To apply the Keplerian rotation method to a protostar at the low-mass end, we have observed the Class 0 protostar IRAS 16253-2429 using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in the 1.3 mm continuum at an angular resolution of 0.″07 (10 au), and in the¹²CO, C¹⁸O,¹³CO (J= 2–1), and SO (J_N= 6₅−5₄) molecular lines, as part of the ALMA Large Program Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks project. The continuum emission traces a nonaxisymmetric, disk-like structure perpendicular to the associated¹²CO outflow. The position–velocity (PV) diagrams in the C¹⁸O and¹³CO lines can be interpreted as infalling and rotating motions. In contrast, the PV diagram along the major axis of the disk-like structure in the¹²CO line allows us to identify Keplerian rotation. The central stellar mass and the disk radius are estimated to be ∼0.12–0.17M_☉and ∼13–19 au, respectively. The SO line suggests the existence of an accretion shock at a ring (r∼ 28 au) surrounding the disk and a streamer from the eastern side of the envelope. IRAS 16253-2429 is not a proto-BD but has a central stellar mass close to the BD mass regime, and our results provide a typical picture of such very-low-mass protostars.

 

Abstract Constraining the physical and chemical structure of young embedded disks is crucial for understanding the earliest stages of planet formation. As part of the Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Large Program, we present high spatial resolution (∼0.″1 or ∼15 au) observations of the 1.3 mm continuum and 13 CO J = 2–1, C 18 O J = 2–1, and SO J N = 6 5 –5 4 molecular lines toward the disk around the Class I protostar L1489 IRS. The continuum emission shows a ring-like structure at 56 au from the central protostar and tenuous, optically thin emission extending beyond ∼300 au. The 13 CO emission traces the warm disk surface, while the C 18 O emission originates from near the disk midplane. The coincidence of the radial emission peak of C 18 O with the dust ring may indicate a gap-ring structure in the gaseous disk as well. The SO emission shows a highly complex distribution, including a compact, prominent component at ≲30 au, which is likely to originate from thermally sublimated SO molecules. The compact SO emission also shows a velocity gradient along a direction tilted slightly (∼15°) with respect to the major axis of the dust disk, which we interpret as an inner warped disk in addition to the warp around ∼200 au suggested by previous work. These warped structures may be formed by a planet or companion with an inclined orbit, or by a gradual change in the angular momentum axis during gas infall. 

We present observations of the Class 0 protostar IRAS 16544–1604 in CB 68 from the “Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk)” ALMA Large program. The ALMA observations target continuum and lines at 1.3 mm with an angular resolution of ∼5 au. The continuum image reveals a dusty protostellar disk with a radius of ∼30 au seen close to edge-on and asymmetric structures along both the major and minor axes. While the asymmetry along the minor axis can be interpreted as the effect of the dust flaring, the asymmetry along the major axis comes from a real nonaxisymmetric structure. The C¹⁸O image cubes clearly show the gas in the disk that follows a Keplerian rotation pattern around a ∼0.14M_⊙central protostar. Furthermore, there are ∼1500 au scale streamer-like features of gas connecting from northeast, north–northwest, and northwest to the disk, as well as the bending outflow as seen in the¹²CO (2–1) emission. At the apparent landing point of the NE streamer, there is SO (6₅–5₄) and SiO (5–4) emission detected. The spatial and velocity structure of the NE streamer can be interpreted as a free-falling gas with a conserved specific angular momentum, and the detection of the SO and SiO emission at the tip of the streamer implies the presence of accretion shocks. Our eDisk observations have unveiled that the Class 0 protostar in CB 68 has a Keplerian-rotating disk with a flaring and nonaxisymmetric structure associated with accretion streamers and outflows.