The [Ne III] Jet of DG Tau and its Ionization Scenarios

TL;DR

This study investigates the ionization mechanisms of neon in the DG Tau jet using spectroscopic data, revealing the roles of X-ray sources and shocks in producing observed neon emission features.

Contribution

It provides a detailed analysis of neon ionization in the DG Tau jet, linking X-ray activity and shock processes to observed emission regions and velocity structures.

Findings

Inner microjet ionized mainly by X-ray flares.

Outer knot reionized by fast shocks exceeding 100 km/s.

Velocity of the high-velocity component decreased over time.

Abstract

Forbidden neon emission from jets of low-mass young stars can be used to probe the underlying high-energy processes in these systems. We analyze spectra of the jet of DG Tau obtained with the Very Large Telescope/X-Shooter spectrograph in 2010. [Ne III] $\lambda$3869 is clearly detected in the innermost 3" microjet and the outer knot located at $\sim$6".5. The velocity structure of the inner microjet can be decomposed into the low-velocity component (LVC) at $\sim -70$ km/s and the high-velocity component (HVC) at $\sim -180$ km/s. Based on the observed [Ne III] flux and its spatial extent, we suggest the origins of the [Ne III] emission regions and their relation with known X-ray sources along the jet. The flares from the hard X-ray source close to the star may be the main ionization source of the innermost microjet. The fainter soft X-ray source at 0".2 from the star may provide sufficient heating to help to sustain the ionization fraction against the recombination in the flow. The outer knot may be reionized by shocks faster than 100 km/s such that [Ne III] emission reappears and that the soft X-ray emission at 5".5 is produced. Velocity decomposition of the archival Hubble Space Telescope spectra obtained in 1999 shows that the HVC had been faster, with a velocity centroid of $\sim -260$ km/s. Such a decrease in velocity may potentially be explained by the expansion of the stellar magnetosphere, changing the truncation radius and thus the launching speed of the jet. The energy released by magnetic reconnections during relaxation of the transition can heat the gas up to several tens of megakelvin and provide the explanation for on-source keV X-ray flares that ionize the neon microjet.