An EXES Medium Resolution Search for Formaldehyde Gas in the Class I/II Young Stellar Object IRAS 04278+2253

Principal Investigator

Benjamin Sargent

Proposal ID

04_0180

Category

STAR FORMATION

Keywords

• ABSORPTION LINES
• SPECTROSCOPY
• PROTO-PLANETARY DISKS
• T TAURI STARS
• YOUNG STARS AND PROTOSTELLAR OBJECTS

Abstract

We propose to obtain high resolution mid-infrared spectroscopy at 5.8 microns wavelength of the Class I/II Young Stellar Object (YSO) IRAS 04278+2253 using EXES on SOFIA to search for absorption from formaldehyde (H2CO) gas. Low spectral resolution (R~90) Spitzer-IRS spectra of this YSO and a number of T Tauri stars (TTSs) show an unresolved band of absorption of full width half maximum (FWHM) of ~0.6 microns centered around 5.7 microns wavelength. Modeling of the Spitzer-IRS spectrum of IRAS 04278+2253 and the other TTSs indicates this band may be due to formaldehyde. Detection of individual absorption lines in high spectral resolution mid-infrared spectra of YSOs would be a significant finding, as the relatively recent mid-infrared spectral studies of TTSs that have found evidence for circumstellar gas in protoplanetary disks have found emission lines from gases such as H2O, OH, CO, CO2, HCN, and C2H2 (e.g., Carr & Najita 2008, Salyk et al 2008; Salyk et al 2009; Carr & Najita 2011; Pontoppidan et al 2011), but they do not find absorption lines, and they do not find H2CO.