A Double-Jet System in the G31.41+0.31 Hot Molecular Core

TL;DR

This study uses multi-epoch VLBI observations of masers to reveal two collimated jets from massive young stellar objects in the G31.41+0.31 hot molecular core, clarifying the nature of the observed velocity gradient.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed kinematic analysis of maser emissions revealing two collimated jets in G31.41+0.31, supporting the outflow interpretation of the velocity gradient.

Findings

Identified two collimated jets associated with different VLA sources.

Measured jet velocities around 36 km/s and 70 km/s.

Supported the outflow hypothesis for the V_LSR gradient.

Abstract

This work presents a detailed study of the gas kinematics towards the "Hot Molecular Core" (HMC) G31.41+0.31 via multi-epoch VLBI observations of the H2O 22 GHz and CH3OH 6.7 GHz masers, and single-epoch VLBI of the OH 1.6 GHz masers. Water masers present a symmetric spatial distribution with respect to the HMC center, where two nearby (0.2" apart), compact, VLA sources (labeled "A" and "B") are previously detected. The spatial distribution of a first group of water masers, named "J1", is well fit with an elliptical profile, and the maser proper motions mainly diverge from the ellipse center, with average speed of 36 km s-1. These findings strongly suggest that the "J1" water maser group traces the heads of a young (dynamical time of 1.3 10^3 yr), powerful (momentum rate of ~0.2 M_sun yr-1 km s-1), collimated (semi-opening angle ~10 deg) jet emerging from a MYSO located close (within 0.15") to the VLA source "B". Most of the water features not belonging to "J1" present an elongated (about 2" in size), NE--SW oriented (PA = 70 deg), S-shape distribution, which we denote with the label "J2". The elongated distribution of the "J2" group and the direction of motion, approximately parallel to the direction of elongation, of most "J2" water masers suggests the presence of another collimated outflow, emitted from a MYSO near the VLA source "A". The orientation of the "J2" jet agrees well with that (PA = 68 deg) of the well-defined V_LSR gradient across the HMC revealed by previous interferometric, thermal line observations. Furthermore, the "J2" jet is powerful enough to sustain the large momentum rate, 0.3 M_sun yr-1 km s-1, estimated assuming that the V_LSR gradient represents a collimated outflow. These two facts lead us to favour the interpretation of the V_LSR gradient across the G31.41+0.31 HMC in terms of a compact and collimated outflow.