[Fe II] jets from intermediate-mass protostars in Carina

TL;DR

This study uses HST/WFC3-IR imaging to analyze [Fe II] jets from intermediate-mass protostars in Carina, revealing dense, collimated outflows that scale up from low-mass star formation processes.

Contribution

It demonstrates that [Fe II] emission reliably traces dense, irradiated jets from intermediate-mass protostars, extending low-mass star formation outflow physics to higher masses.

Findings

[Fe II] emission is a reliable tracer of dense jets.

Jets show high densities and mass-loss rates.

Collimated outflows are common in intermediate-mass protostars.

Abstract

We present new HST/WFC3-IR narrowband [Fe II] images of protostellar jets in the Carina Nebula. Combined with 5 previously published sources, we have a sample of 18 jets and 2 HH objects. All of the jets we targeted with WFC3 show bright infrared [Fe II] emission, and a few H$\alpha$ candidate jets are confirmed as collimated outflows based on the morphology of their [Fe II] emission. Continuum-subtracted images clearly separate jet emission from the adjacent ionization front, providing a better tracer of the collimated jet than H$\alpha$ and allowing us to connect these jets with their embedded driving sources. The [Fe II] 1.64 $\mu$m/H$\alpha$ flux ratio measured in the jets is $\gtrsim 5$ times larger than in the adjacent ionization fronts. The low-ionization jet core requires high densities to shield Fe$^+$ against further ionization by the FUV radiation from O-type stars in the H II region. High jet densities imply high mass-loss rates, consistent with the intermediate-mass driving sources we identify for 13 jets. The remaining jets emerge from opaque globules that obscure emission from the protostar. In many respects, the HH jets in Carina look like a scaled-up version of the jets driven by low-mass protostars. Altogether, these observations suggest that [Fe II] emission is a reliable tracer of dense, irradiated jets driven by intermediate-mass protostars. We argue that highly collimated outflows are common to more massive protostars, and that they suggest the outflow physics inferred for low-mass stars formation scales up to at least $\sim8$ M$_{\odot}$.