We present CO 3-2, SiO 8-7, C34S 7-6, and 878 mum dust continuum subarcsecond angular resolution observations with the SMA toward IRAS 16293-2422 (I16293). The C34S emission traces the 878 mum dust continuum well, and clearly shows a smooth velocity
gradient along the major axis of component I16293A. The CO shows emission at moderate high velocities arising from two bipolar outflows, which appear to be perpendicular with respect to each other. The high sensitivity and higher angular resolution of these observations allows us to pinpoint well the origin of these two outflows at the center of component I16293A. Interestingly, the most compact outflow appears to point toward I16293B. Our data show that the previously reported monopolar blueshifted CO outflow associated with component I16293B seems to be part of the compact outflow arising from component I16293A. In addition, the SiO emission is also tracing this compact outflow: on one hand, the SiO emission appears to have a jet-like morphology along the southern redshifted lobe; on the other hand, the SiO emission associated with the blueshifted northern lobe traces a well defined arc on the border of component I16293B facing I16293A. The blueshifted CO lobe of the compact outflow splits into two lobes around the position of this SiO arc. All these results lead us to propose that the compact outflow from component I16293A is impacting on the circumstellar gas around component I16293B, possibly being diverged as a consequence of the interaction.
Shock-induced H2O masers are important magnetic field tracers at very high density gas. Water masers are found in both high- and low-mass star-forming regions, acting as a powerful tool to compare magnetic field morphologies in both mass regimes. In
this paper, we show one of the first magnetic field determinations in the low-mass protostellar core IRAS 16293-2422 at volume densities as high as 10^(8-10) cm^-3. Our goal is to discern if the collapsing regime of this source is controlled by magnetic fields or other factors like turbulence. We used the Very Large Array (VLA) to carry out spectro-polarimetric observations in the 22 GHz Zeeman emission of H2O masers. From the Stokes V line profile, we can estimate the magnetic field strength in the dense regions around the protostar. A blend of at least three maser features can be inferred from our relatively high spatial resolution data set (~ 0.1), which is reproduced in a clear non-Gaussian line profile. The emission is very stable in polarization fraction and position angle across the channels. The maser spots are aligned with some components of the complex outflow configuration of IRAS 16293-2422, and they are excited in zones of compressed gas produced by shocks. The post-shock particle density is in the range of 1-3 x 10^9 cm^-3, consistent with typical water masers pumping densities. Zeeman emission is produced by a very strong line-of-sight magnetic field (B ~ 113 mG). The magnetic field pressure derived from our data is comparable to the ram pressure of the outflow dynamics. This indicates that the magnetic field is energetically important in the dynamical evolution of IRAS 16293-2422.
Observations with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer in the most extended configuration toward two intermediate-mass star-forming regions, IRAS22198+6336 and AFGL5142, reveal the presence of several complex organic molecules at ~500 AU scales, confir
ming the presence of hot cores in both regions. The hot cores are not rich in CN-bearing molecules, as often seen in massive hot cores, and are mainly traced by CH3CH2OH, (CH2OH)2, CH3COCH3, and CH3OH, with additionally CH3CHO, CH3OD and HCOOD for IRAS22198+6336, and C6H, and O13CS for AFGL5142. The emission of complex molecules is resolved down to sizes of ~300 and ~600 AU, for IRAS22198+6336 and AFGL5142, respectively, and most likely is tracing protostellar disks rather than flattened envelopes or toroids as usually found. This is specially clear for the case of IRAS22198+6336, where we detect a velocity gradient for all the mapped molecules perpendicular to the most chemically rich outflow of the region, yielding a dynamic mass >4 Msun. As for AFGL5142, the hot core emission is resolved into two elongated cores separated 1800 AU. A detailed comparison of the complex molecule peaks to the new CO(2-1) data and H2O maser data from literature suggests that also for AFGL5142 the complex molecules are mainly associated with disks, except for a faint and extended molecular emission found to the west, which is possibly produced in the interface between one of the outflows and the dense surrounding gas.
We present several molecular line emission arcsec and subarcsec observations obtained with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) in the direction of the massive protostar IRAS 18162-2048, the exciting source of HH 80-81. The data clearly indicates the pres
ence of a compact (radius~425-850 AU) SO2 structure, enveloping the more compact (radius~150 AU) 1.4 millimeter dust emission (reported in a previous paper). The emission spatially coincides with the position of the prominent thermal radio jet which terminates at the HH 80-81 and HH 80N Herbig-Haro objects. Furthermore, the molecular emission is elongated in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the thermal radio jet, suggesting a disk-like structure. We derive a total dynamic mass (disk-like structure and protostar) of 11-15 msun. The SO2 spectral line data also allow us to constrain the structure temperature between 120-160 K and the volume density > 2x10^9 cm-3. We also find that such a rotating flattened system could be unstable due to gravitational disturbances. The data from C17O line emission show a dense core within this star-forming region. Additionally, the H2CO and the SO emissions appear clumpy and trace the disk-like structure, a possible interaction between a molecular core and the outflows, and in part, the cavity walls excavated by the thermal radio jet.
We performed J- and R-band linear polarimetry with the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos and with the 1.6 m telescope at the Observatorio do Pico dos Dias, respectively, to derive the magnetic field geome
try of the diffuse molecular cloud surrounding the embedded protostellar system NGC 1333 IRAS 4A. We obtained interstellar polarization data for about two dozen stars. The distribution of polarization position angles has low dispersion and suggests the existence of an ordered magnetic field component at physical scales larger than the protostar. Some of the observed stars present intrinsic polarization and evidence of being young stellar objects. The estimated mean orientation of the interstellar magnetic field as derived from these data is almost perpendicular to the main direction of the magnetic field associated with the dense molecular envelope around IRAS 4A. Since the distribution of the CO emission in NGC 1333 indicates that the diffuse molecular gas has a multi-layered structure, we suggest that the observed polarization position angles are caused by the superposed projection along the line of sight of different magnetic field components.
We used the Submillimeter Array (SMA) to observe the thermal polarized dust emission from the protostellar source NGC 2024 FIR 5. The polarized emission outlines a partial hourglass morphology for the plane-of-sky component of the core magnetic field
. Our data are consistent with previous BIMA maps, and the overall magnetic field geometries obtained with both instruments are similar. We resolve the main core into two components, FIR 5A and FIR 5B. A possible explanation for the asymmetrical field lies in depolarization effects due to the lack of internal heating from FIR 5B source, which may be in a prestellar evolutionary state. The field strength was estimated to be 2.2 mG, in agreement with previous BIMA data. We discuss the influence of a nearby H{sc ii} region over the field lines at scales of $sim 0.01$ pc. Although the hot component is probably compressing the molecular gas where the dust core is embedded, it is unlikely that the radiation pressure exceeds the magnetic tension. Finally, a complex outflow morphology is observed in CO (3 $rightarrow$ 2) maps. Unlike previous maps, several features associated with dust condensations other than FIR 5 are detected.
