Molecular Line Profile Fitting with Analytic Radiative Transfer Models

Abstract

We present a study of analytic models of starless cores whose line profiles have ``infall asymmetry,'' or blue-skewed shapes indicative of contracting motions. We compare the ability of two types of analytical radiative transfer models to reproduce the line profiles and infall speeds of centrally condensed starless cores whose infall speeds are spatially constant and range between 0 and 0.2 km s-1. The model line profiles of HCO+ (J=1-0) and HCO+ (J=3-2) are produced by a self-consistent Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. The analytic models assume that the excitation temperature in the front of the cloud is either constant (``two-layer'' model) or increases inward as a linear function of optical depth (``hill'' model). Each analytic model is matched to the line profile by rapid least-squares fitting. The blue-asymmetric line profiles with two peaks, or with a blue shifted peak and a red shifted shoulder, can be well fit by the ``HILL5'' model (a five parameter version of the hill model), with an RMS error of 0.02 km s-1. A peak signal to noise ratio of at least 30 in the molecular line observations is required for performing these analytic radiative transfer fits to the line profiles.