CALYPSO: An IRAM Plateau de Bure Survey of Class 0 Protostars

The physics of the youngest protostars, e.g. Class 0 objects, remains poorly understood. For instance, the processes by which the angular momentum present in the parent core is conserved during the main collapse phase, e.g. during the formation of the protostar in the inner envelope, are still largely unknown. Solving this long-standing “angular momentum problem” is of paramount importance for our understanding of solar-type star formation. To this end, we started a comprehensive study of a large sample of Class 0 protostars, observed with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. The CALYPSO (Continuum And Line Young ProtoStellar Object) survey aims at characterizing 17 nearby protostars and is the most complete sub-arcsecond resolution survey of Class 0 objects carried out so far in the millimeter bands. Here, we describe the details of this ambitious observing program.