The circumstellar density distribution of L1551NE

We report the results of submillimeter photometry and 800 micron mapping of L1551NE, the second brightest Class I source in the Taurus dark clouds. Simultaneous modeling of the continuum spectrum and the azimuthally averaged 800 m radial profile of L1551NE indicates a circumstellar envelope with a rather shallow density gradient. Such shallow density gradients, although unexpected theoretically, have now been found around a number of other low-mass young stellar objects. We suggest that the magnetic fields in these sources may play a role in determining the observed density distributions.