Oscillations in the stable starless core Barnard 68

Abstract

New molecular line observations of the Bok globule Barnard 68 in HCO+ irrefutably confirm the complex pattern of red and blue asymmetric line profiles seen across the face of the cloud in previous observations of CS. The new observations thus strengthen the previous interpretation that Barnard 68 is undergoing peculiar oscillations. Furthermore, the physical chemistry of B68 indicates that the object is much older than the sound crossing time and is therefore long-lived. A model is presented for the globule in which a modest external pressure perturbation is shown to lead to oscillations about a stable equilibrium configuration. Such oscillations may be present in other stable starless cores as manifested by a similar signature of inward and outward motions.