An Estimation of the Star Formation Rate in the Perseus Complex

Abstract

We present the results of our investigation of the star-forming potential in the Perseus star-forming complex. We build on previous starless core, protostellar core, and young stellar object (YSO) catalogs from Spitzer (3.6–70 μ m), Herschel (70–500 μ m), and SCUBA (850 μ m) observations in the literature. We place the cores and YSOs within seven star-forming clumps based on column densities greater than cm −2 . We calculate the mean density and free-fall time for 69 starless cores as ∼5.55 g cm −3 and ∼0.1 Myr, respectively, and we estimate the star formation rate for the near future as ∼150 M ⊙ Myr −1 . According to Bonnor–Ebert stability analysis, we find that majority of starless cores in Perseus are unstable. Broadly, these cores can collapse to form the next generation of stars. We found a relation between starless cores and YSOs, where the numbers of young protostars (Class 0 + Class I) are similar to the numbers of starless cores. This similarity, which shows a one-to-one relation, suggests that these starless cores may form the next generation of stars with approximately the same formation rate as the current generation, as identified by the Class 0 and Class I protostars. It follows that if such a relation between starless cores and any YSO stage exists, the SFR values of these two populations must be nearly constant. In brief, we propose that this one-to-one relation is an important factor in better understanding the star formation process within a cloud.