ALMA Observations of the HH 46/47 Molecular Outflow

TL;DR

This study uses ALMA observations to analyze the HH 46/47 molecular outflow, revealing differences in lobes, higher velocities, and complex entrainment mechanisms, including evidence of a binary-driven outflow.

Contribution

First high-resolution ALMA observations of HH 46/47 outflow showing detailed morphology, kinematics, and evidence of multiple entrainment processes and a binary-driven outflow.

Findings

Higher outflow velocities and energy estimates than previous studies.

Blue lobe consistent with wide-angle wind entrainment.

Red lobe shows complex entrainment including episodic bow shocks.

Abstract

The morphology, kinematics and entrainment mechanism of the HH 46/47 molecular outflow were studied using new ALMA Cycle 0 observations. Results show that the blue and red lobes are strikingly different. We argue that these differences are partly due to contrasting ambient densities that result in different wind components having a distinct effect on the entrained gas in each lobe. A 29-point mosaic, covering the two lobes at an angular resolution of about 3", detected outflow emission at much higher velocities than previous observations, resulting in significantly higher estimates of the outflow momentum and kinetic energy than previous studies of this source, using the CO(1-0) line. The morphology and the kinematics of the gas in the blue lobe are consistent with models of outflow entrainment by a wide-angle wind, and a simple model describes the observed structures in the position-velocity diagram and the velocity-integrated intensity maps. The red lobe exhibits a more complex structure, and there is evidence that this lobe is entrained by a wide-angle wind and a collimated episodic wind. Three major clumps along the outflow axis show velocity distribution consistent with prompt entrainment by different bow shocks formed by periodic mass ejection episodes which take place every few hundred years. Position-velocity cuts perpendicular to the outflow cavity show gradients where the velocity increases towards the outflow axis, inconsistent with outflow rotation. Additionally, we find evidence for the existence of a small outflow driven by a binary companion.