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Description
We present the results of a search for all embedded protostars with internal luminosities <=1.0L_{sun}_ in the full sample of nearby, low-mass star-forming regions surveyed by the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Project "From Molecular Cores to Planet Forming Disks" (c2d). We present a set of selection criteria used to identify candidates from the Spitzer data and examine complementary data to decide whether each candidate is truly an embedded protostar. Between 75% and 85% of cores classified as starless prior to being observed by Spitzer remain starless to our luminosity sensitivity; the remaining 15%-25% harbor low-luminosity, embedded protostars. We compile complete spectral energy distributions for all 50 objects and calculate standard evolutionary signatures (L_bol_, T_bol_, and L_bol_/L_smm_) and argue that these objects are inconsistent with the simplest picture of star formation, wherein mass accretes from the core onto the protostar at a constant rate.
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