Evolutionary status of dense cores in the NGC 1333 IRAS 4 star-forming region

Context: Protostellar evolution after the formation of the protostar is becoming reasonably well characterized, but the evolution from a prestellar core to a protostar is not well known, although the first hydrostatic core (FHSC) must be a pivotal step. Aims: NGC 1333 – IRAS 4C is a potentially very young object that we can directly compare with the nearby Class 0 objects IRAS 4A and IRAS 4B. Observational constraints are provided by spectral imaging from the JCMT Spectral Legacy Survey (330−373 GHz). We present integrated intensity and velocity maps of several species, including CO, H₂CO and CH₃OH. CARMA observations provide additional information with which we can distinguish IRAS 4C from other evolutionary stages. Methods: We present the observational signatures of the velocity of an observed outflow, the degree of CO depletion, the deuterium fractionation of [DCO⁺]/[HCO⁺], and gas kinetic temperatures. Results: We report differences between the three sources in four aspects: a) the kinetic temperature as probed using the H₂CO lines is much lower toward IRAS 4C than the other two sources; b) the line profiles of the detected species show strong outflow activity toward IRAS 4A and IRAS 4B, but not toward IRAS 4C; c) the HCN/HNC is