Confirmation of the VeLLO L1148-IRS: Star Formation at very low (Column) Density
Abstract
We report the detection of a compact (of order 5 arcsec; about 1800 AU projected size) CO outflow from L1148-IRS. This confirms that this Spitzer source is physically associated with the nearby (about 325 pc) L1148 dense core. Radiative transfer modeling suggests an internal luminosity of 0.08 to 0.13 Lsun. This validates L1148-IRS as a Very Low Luminosity Object (VeLLO; L < 0.1 Lsun). The L1148 dense core has unusually low densities and column densities for a star-forming core. It is difficult to understand how L1148-IRS might have formed under these conditions. Independent of the exact final mass of this VeLLO (which is likely < 0.24 Msun), L1148-IRS and similar VeLLOs might hold some clues about the isolated formation of brown dwarfs.
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