Molecular Outflows in the Substellar Domain: Millimeter Observations of Young Very Low Mass Objects in Taurus and rho Ophiuchi

TL;DR

This study reports the detection of a bipolar molecular outflow from a very low mass star in Taurus, supporting the idea that such objects form through scaled-down star formation processes.

Contribution

First detection of a bipolar molecular outflow from a very low mass star in Taurus, providing evidence that these objects form similarly to higher-mass stars.

Findings

Detected outflow from MHO 5 with estimated mass of 7.0 x 10^-5 M_Sun.

Outflow mass-loss rate estimated at 9.0 x 10^-10 M_Sun.

Outflow properties are significantly weaker than those of T Tauri stars.

Abstract

We report here our search for molecular outflows from young very low mass stars and brown dwarfs in Taurus and rho Ophiuchi. Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA), we have observed 4 targets at 1.3 mm wavelength (230 GHz) to search for CO J=2-->1 outflows. A young very low mass star MHO 5 (in Taurus) with an estimated mass of 90 M_J, which is just above the hydrogen-burning limit, shows two gas lobes that are likely outflows. While the CO map of MHO 5 does not show a clear structure of outflow, possibly due to environment gas, its position-velocity diagram indicates two distinct blue- and redshifted components. We therefore conclude that they are components of a bipolar molecular outflow from MHO 5. We estimate an outflow mass of 7.0 x 10^-5 M_Sun and a mass-loss rate of 9.0 x 10^-10 M_Sun. These values are over two orders of magnitude smaller than the typical ones for T Tauri stars and somewhat weaker than those we have observed in the young brown dwarf ISO-Oph 102 of 60 M_J in rho Ophiuchi. This makes MHO~5 the first young very low mass star showing a bipolar molecular outflow in Taurus. The detection boosts the scenario that very low mass objects form like low-mass stars but in a version scaled down by a factor of over 100.