Launching the asymmetric bipolar jet of DO Tau

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution near-IR observations to investigate the launching, morphology, and kinematics of the bipolar jet from DO Tau, revealing early collimation, velocity asymmetries, and constraints on the launching region supporting X-wind or narrow disk-wind models.

Contribution

First high-resolution analysis of DO Tau's bipolar jet, providing new insights into jet launching mechanisms, asymmetries, and possible precession effects.

Findings

Blue-shifted jet is quickly collimated, indicating magnetic field influence.

Velocity asymmetries between lobes are sustained over 20 years.

Jet rotation is constrained, supporting X-wind or narrow disk-wind models.

Abstract

The role of bipolar jets in the formation of stars, and in particular how they are launched, is still not well understood. We probe the protostellar jet launching mechanism, via high resolution observations of the near-IR [FeII] 1.53,1.64 micron lines. We consider the bipolar jet from the Classical T Tauri star, DO Tau, & investigate jet morphology & kinematics close to the star, using AO-assisted IFU observations from GEMINI/NIFS. The brighter, blue-shifted jet is collimated quickly after launch. This early collimation requires the presence of magnetic fields. We confirm velocity asymmetries between the two jet lobes, & confirm no time variability in the asymmetry over a 20 year interval. This sustained asymmetry is in accordance with recent simulations of magnetised disk-winds. We examine the data for jet rotation. We report an upper limit on differences in radial velocity of 6.3 & 8.7 km/s for the blue & red-shifted jets, respectively. Interpreting this as an upper limit on jet rotation implies that any steady, axisymmetric magneto-centrifugal model of jet launching is constrained to a launch radius in the disk-plane of 0.5 & 0.3 au for the blue & red-shifted jets, respectively. This supports an X-wind or narrow disk-wind model. This pertains only to the observed high velocity [FeII] emission, & does not rule out a wider flow launched from a wider radius. We report detection of small amplitude jet axis wiggling in both lobes. We rule out orbital motion of the jet source as the cause. Precession can better account for the observations but requires double the precession angle, & a different phase for the counter-jet. Such non-solid body precession could arise from an inclined massive Jupiter companion, or a warping instability induced by launching a magnetic disk-wind. Overall, our observations are consistent with an origin of the DO Tau jets from the inner regions of the disk.