Velocity-resolved hot water emission detected toward HL Tau with the Submillimeter Array

Velocity-resolved hot water emission detected toward HL Tau with the Submillimeter Array

Authors:

Kristensen et al

Abstract:

Using the Submillimeter Array (SMA) on Mauna Kea, the H2-16O 10_2,9-9_3,6 transition (E_up=1863K) at 321.2 GHz has been detected toward the embedded low-mass protostar HL Tau. The line centroid is blue-shifted by 15 km/s with respect to the source velocity, and it has a FWHM of 20 km/s. The emission is tentatively resolved and extends ~3-4" over the sky (~2 beams), or ~500 AU at the distance of Taurus. The velocity offset, and to a lesser degree the spatial extent of the emission, shows that the line originates in the protostellar jet or wind. This result suggests that at least some water emission observed toward embedded sources, and perhaps also disk sources, with Herschel and Spitzer contains a wind or jet component, which is crucial for interpreting these data. These pathfinder observations done with the SMA opens a new window to studying the origin of water emission with e.g. ALMA, thus providing new insights into where water is in protostellar systems.