Publications of the MPIfR
Optical & Infrared
Interferometry Group
G. Weigelt, H. Beuther, K.-H. Hofmann,
M.R. Meyer, Th. Preibisch, D. Schertl, M.D. Smith, & E.T. Young
Bispectrum speckle interferometry of the
massive protostellar outflow source IRAS 23151+5912
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 447, pg.655-665 (2006)
Abstract
We present bispectrum speckle interferometry
of the massive protostellar object IRAS 23151+5912, in the
near-infrared K' band.
The reconstructed image shows the diffuse nebulosity north-east of two
point-like sources in unprecedented detail.
The comparison of our near-infrared image with mm continuum and CO
molecular line maps shows
that the brighter of the two point sources lies near the center of the
mm peak, indicating that it is a high-mass protostar.
The nebulosity coincides with the blue-shifted molecular
outflow component. The most prominent feature in the nebulosity is
a bow-shock-like arc.
We assume that this feature is associated with a precessing jet
which has created an inward-pointed cone in the swept-up material.
We present numerical jet simulations that reproduce this and several
other features observed in our speckle image of the nebulosity.
Our data also reveal a linear structure connecting
the central point source to the extended
diffuse nebulosity. This feature may represent the innermost part
of a jet that drives the
strong molecular outflow (PA ~80 degr) from IRAS 23151+5912. With the
aid of radiative transfer calculations, we demonstrate that, in
general, the observed inner structures of the circumstellar material
surrounding high-mass stars are strongly influenced by the
orientation and symmetry of the bipolar cavity.
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