High SiO abundance in the HH212 protostellar jet

TL;DR

This study reveals a high SiO abundance in the HH212 protostellar jet, suggesting complex chemistry and challenging existing models, with implications for understanding jet launch regions and dust content.

Contribution

It provides the first sub-arcsecond CO map of the HH212 jet base and constrains the SiO abundance, offering new insights into jet composition and launch mechanisms.

Findings

Gas-phase SiO contains at least 10% of elemental silicon if dusty.

SiO abundance is at least 40% if the jet is dust-free.

High SiO content challenges current chemical models.

Abstract

Previous SiO maps of the innermost regions of HH212 set strong constraints on the structure and origin of this jet. They rule out a fast wide-angle wind, and tentatively favor a magneto-centrifugal disk wind launched out to 0.6 AU. We aim to assess the SiO content at the base of the HH212 jet to set an independent constraint on the location of the jet launch zone with respect to the dust sublimation radius. We present the first sub-arcsecond (0"44x0"96) CO map of the HH212 jet base, obtained with the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. Combining this with previous SiO(5-4) data, we infer the CO(2-1) opacity and mass-flux in the high-velocity jet and arrive at a much tighter lower limit to the SiO abundance than possible from the (optically thick) SiO emission alone. Gas-phase SiO at high velocity contains at least 10% of the elemental silicon if the jet is dusty, and at least 40% if the jet is dust-free, if CO and SiO have similar excitation temperatures. Such a high SiO content is challenging for current chemical models of both dust-free winds and dusty interstellar shocks. Updated chemical models (equatorial dust-free winds, highly magnetized dusty shocks) and observations of higher J CO lines are required to elucidate the dust content and launch radius of the HH212 high-velocity jet.