APEX CO (9-8) MAPPING OF AN EXTREMELY HIGH VELOCITY AND JET-LIKE OUTFLOW IN A HIGH-MASS STAR-FORMING REGION
- Max-Planck-Institut fuer Radioastronomie, Auf dem Huegel 69, 53121 Bonn (Germany)
Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) mapping observations in CO (9-8) and (4-3) toward a high-mass star-forming region, NGC 6334 I, are presented. The CO (9-8) map has a 6.''4 resolution, revealing a {approx}0.5 pc, jet-like, and bipolar outflow. This is the first map of a molecular outflow in a THz line. The CO (9-8) and (4-3) lines arising from the outflow lobes both show extremely high velocity line wings, and their ratios indicate a gas temperature greater than 100 K and a density higher than 10{sup 4} cm{sup -3}. The spatial-velocity structure of the CO (9-8) data is typical of a bow-shock-driven flow, which is consistent with the association between the bipolar outflow and the infrared bow-shaped tips. In short, the observations unveil a highly excited and collimated component in a bipolar outflow that is powered by a high-mass protostar, and provide insights into the driving mechanism of the outflow. Meanwhile, the observations demonstrate that high-quality mapping observations can be performed with the new THz receiver on APEX.
- OSTI ID:
- 22047296
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 743, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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