No CrossRef data available.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 May 2016
The results of C17O and C18O observations of low luminosity young stars are discussed and the derived properties of the circumstellar molecular envelopes described. Much of the circumstellar material is quiescent and cold. The youngest sources have envelopes which contain up to ∼ 0.3 M⊙ of material within 3000–4000 AU of the central star. From a survey of sources in Taurus, both the timescale and mechanism of clearing of the circumstellar region are investigated. Neither the observed outflows nor standard infall models alone are capable of clearing the circumstellar regions quickly enough. Maps of the circumstellar material around two very young sources suggest that the stars form from flattened configurations of material.