FAUST. II. Discovery of a Secondary Outflow in IRAS 15398− 3359: Variability in Outflow Direction during the Earliest Stage of Star Formation?

Y Okoda, Y Oya, L Francis, D Johnstone… - The Astrophysical …, 2021 - iopscience.iop.org
Y Okoda, Y Oya, L Francis, D Johnstone, S Inutsuka, C Ceccarelli, C Codella, C Chandler…
The Astrophysical Journal, 2021iopscience.iop.org
We have observed the very low-mass Class 0 protostar IRAS 15398− 3359 at scales
ranging from 50 to 1800 au, as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array
Large Program FAUST. We uncover a linear feature, visible in H 2 CO, SO, and C 18 O line
emission, which extends from the source in a direction almost perpendicular to the known
active outflow. Molecular line emission from H 2 CO, SO, SiO, and CH 3 OH further reveals
an arc-like structure connected to the outer end of the linear feature and separated from the …
Abstract
We have observed the very low-mass Class 0 protostar IRAS 15398− 3359 at scales ranging from 50 to 1800 au, as part of the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array Large Program FAUST. We uncover a linear feature, visible in H 2 CO, SO, and C 18 O line emission, which extends from the source in a direction almost perpendicular to the known active outflow. Molecular line emission from H 2 CO, SO, SiO, and CH 3 OH further reveals an arc-like structure connected to the outer end of the linear feature and separated from the protostar, IRAS 15398− 3359, by 1200 au. The arc-like structure is blueshifted with respect to the systemic velocity. A velocity gradient of 1.2 km s− 1 over 1200 au along the linear feature seen in the H 2 CO emission connects the protostar and the arc-like structure kinematically. SO, SiO, and CH 3 OH are known to trace shocks, and we interpret the arc-like structure as a relic shock region produced by an outflow previously launched by IRAS 15398− 3359. The velocity gradient along the linear structure can be explained as relic outflow motion. The origins of the newly observed arc-like structure and extended linear feature are discussed in relation to turbulent motions within the protostellar core and episodic accretion events during the earliest stage of protostellar evolution.
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