Molecular evolution in star-forming cores: From prestellar cores to protostellar cores

Abstract

We investigate the molecular abundances in protostellar cores by solving the gas-grain chemical reaction network. As a physical model of the core, we adopt a result of one-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics calculation, which follows the contraction of an initially hydrostatic prestellar core to form a protostellar core. Temporal variation of molecular abundances is solved in multiple infalling shells, which enable us to investigate the spatial distribution of molecules in the evolving core. The shells pass through the warm region of T ~ 20–100 K in several 10⁴ yr and falls onto the central star in ~100 yr after they enter the region of T > 100 K. We found that the complex organic species such as HCOOCH₃ are formed mainly via grain-surface reactions at T ~ 20–40 K, and then sublimated to the gas phase when the shell temperature reaches their sublimation temperatures (T ≥ 100 K). Carbon-chain species can be re-generated from sublimated CH₄ via gas-phase and grain-surface reactions. HCO₂⁺, which is recently detected towards L1527, are abundant at r = 100–2,000 AU, and its column density reaches ~10¹¹ cm⁻² in our model. If a core is isolated and irradiated directly by interstellar UV radiation, photo-dissociation of water ice produces OH, which reacts with CO to form CO₂ efficiently. Complex species then become less abundant compared with the case of embedded core in ambient clouds. Although a circumstellar (protoplanetary) disk is not included in our core model, we can expect similar chemical reactions (i.e., production of large organic species, carbon-chains and HCO₂⁺) to proceed in disk regions with T ~ 20–100 K.