PF-04-0038

Streamers Feed Embedded Class 0/I Disks at the Dawn of Planet Formation

Dominique M. Segura-Cox, Jaime E. Pineda, Paola Caselli, Maria Teresa Valdivia-Mena, Anika Schmiedeke, Ian W. Stephens, Leslie W. Looney, Manuel Fernandez-Lopez, Maria Jose Maureira

Evidence that planet formation begins when protostars are less than 1 million years old continues to build. During this early Class 0/I phase of star formation, protostars and their disks are still embedded in (and feeding from) their natal environments. This indicates that the larger-scale environments of protostars may effect how and when planets form, and with what composition. In particular, streamers---long and narrow lanes that funnel material to disks from their environments---have been predicted theoretically and have been serendipitously observed in a variety of tracers. I will highlight the streamer that feeds the Class I protostar IRS 63. IRS 63 has the youngest-known protostellar disk with multiple concentric dust rings, features which are often associated with planet formation. The streamer of IRS 63 heats the ringed disk on impact, altering disk chemistry during the earliest steps of planet formation. I will also highlight early results from the ongoing PRODIGE survey; PRODIGE is the only large program specifically designed to target streamers and is observed with the NOEMA interferometer.