Outflows from the youngest stars are mostly molecular

Author(s): T. P. Ray, M. J. McCaughrean, A. Caratti o Garatti, P. J. Kavanagh, K. Justtanont, E. F. van Dishoeck, M. Reitsma, H. Beuther, L. Francis, C. Gieser, P. Klaassen, G. Perotti, L. Tychoniec, M. van Gelder, L. Colina, Th R. Greve, M. Güdel, Th Henning, P. O. Lagage, G. Östlin, B. Vandenbussche, C. Waelkens, G. Wright
Abstract: The formation of stars and planets is accompanied not only by the build-up of matter, namely accretion, but also by its expulsion in the form of highly supersonic jets that can stretch for several parsecs^1,2. As accretion and jet activity are correlated and because young stars acquire most of their mass rapidly early on, the most powerful jets are associated with the youngest protostars³. This period, however, coincides with the time when the protostar and its surroundings are hidden behind many magnitudes of visual extinction. Millimetre interferometers can probe this stage but only for the coolest components³. No information is provided on the hottest (greater than 1,000 K) constituents of the jet, that is, the atomic, ionized and high-temperature molecular gases that are thought to make up the jet’s backbone. Detecting such a spine relies on observing in the infrared that can penetrate through the shroud of dust. Here we report near-infrared observations of Herbig-Haro 211 from the James Webb Space Telescope, an outflow from an analogue of our Sun when it was, at most, a few times 10⁴ years old. These observations reveal copious emission from hot molecules, explaining the origin of the ‘green fuzzies’^4–7 discovered nearly two decades ago by the Spitzer Space Telescope⁸. This outflow is found to be propagating slowly in comparison to its more evolved counterparts and, surprisingly, almost no trace of atomic or ionized emission is seen, suggesting its spine is almost purely molecular.
Organisation(s): Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s): Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, INAF Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte , National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Chalmers University of Technology, Leiden University, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik, The Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, European Southern Observatory (Germany), Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich, Université Paris Saclay, Stockholm University, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Trinity College Dublin, Science and Operations Department - Science Division (SCI-SC), Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA)
Journal: Nature
Volume: 622
Pages: 48-52
No. of pages: 5
ISSN: 0028-0836
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06551-1
Publication date: 10-2023
Peer reviewed: Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012: 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
ASJC Scopus subject areas: General
Portal url: https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/dac1f524-4e56-4330-95ee-345398cdf6a3

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