研究成果藝廊

Neon emission lines are good indicators of high-excitation regions close to a young stellar system because of their high ionization potentials and large critical densities. We have discovered [Ne III] λ3869 emission from the microjets of Sz 102, a low-mass young star in Lupus III. Spectroastrometric analyses of two-dimensional [Ne III] spectra obtained from archival high-dispersion (R ≈ 33,000) Very Large Telescope/UVES data suggest that the emission consists of two velocity components spatially separated by ∼0".3, or a projected distance of ∼60 AU. The stronger redshifted component is centered at ∼+21 km s⁻¹ with a line width of ∼140 km s⁻¹, and the weaker blueshifted component at ∼−90 km s⁻¹ with a line width of ∼190 km s⁻¹. The two components trace velocity centroids of the known microjets and show large line widths that extend across the systemic velocity, suggesting their potential origins in wide-angle winds that may eventually collimate into jets. The detection of the [Ne III] λ3869 line with the distinct velocity profile suggests that the emission originates in flows that may have been strongly ionized by deeply embedded hard X-ray sources, most likely generated by magnetic processes. The discovery of [Ne III] λ3869 emission along with other optical forbidden lines from Sz 102 supports the picture of wide-angle winds surrounding magnetic loops in the close vicinity of the young star. (Liu, Shang, Walter, & Herczeg 2014, ApJ, 786, 99)