Astrophysical Interpretation of Molecular Spectra

Though infrared photometric studies over the last two decades have revealed numerous "objects" embedded in the dense clouds out of which stars are presumed to condense, there remains no single source one may point to and confidently say "Indeed, that is a protostar, no need to search further" (cf. Wynn-Williams 1982). The problem is that despite the fact that the photometry gives an excellent assessment of the energy generated within, it tells painfully little of the object's structure — that is the density, temperature, or dynamics as a function of radius. These latter "details" are clearly needed to define the evolutionary state of the source.