Jets and outflows are associated with young stellar objects across the stellar mass spectrum, from brown dwarf protostars to massive, Ae/Be stars. Frequently, the jet morphology is spatially discontinuous because of the temporal variability of the ejection from the driving source. Images covering a wide field of view around the jet driving-source are useful to map the large-scale jet emission and to explore the mass ejection history. The aim of this work was to search for large-scale optical Herbig-Haro (HH) objects lying in a wide field around a sample of IRAS sources, candidates to trace young stellar objects. Deep, narrow-band images through the H$\alpha$ and [SII] emission lines, and through an off-line continuum filter, covering a wide ($\sim15'$) field around the IRAS targets were acquired. The images in the three filters were analyzed to identify shock-excited line emission (i.e., HH) in contrast to scattered line emission. New images of a sample of fifteen IRAS sources, obtained in an homogeneous way are presented. HH emission was detected in six fields, and the astrometry of the knot features is given. The nature of the extended emission as scattered emission around nine of the IRAS targets is confirmed. For seven IRAS sources, with unclear optical counterpart, a more plausible counterpart is proposed. A refined value of the source distance is reported for seven targets. An update of the main data available for each of the sampled fields, including images from public data archives, is also presented.

Aims. In this paper, we study the dense gas of the molecular cloud LDN 1287 (L1287), which harbors a double FU Ori system, an energetic molecular outflow, and a still-forming cluster of deeply embedded low-mass young stellar objects that show a high level of fragmentation. Methods. We present optical H alpha and [SII], and VLA NH3 (1, 1) and (2, 2) observations with an angular resolution of similar to 3 '.5. The observed NH3 spectra have been analyzed with the Hyperfine Structure tool, fitting simultaneously three different velocity components. Results. The NH3 emission from L1287 comes from four different structures: a core associated with RNO 1, a guitar-shaped core (the Guitar) and two interlaced filaments (the blue and red filaments) roughly centered toward the binary FU Ori system RNO 1B/1C and its associated cluster. Regarding the Guitar core, there are clear signatures of gas infall onto a central mass that has been estimated to be similar to 2.1M(circle dot). Regarding the two filaments, they have radii of similar to 0.03 pc, masses per unit length of similar to 50M(circle dot) pc(-1), and are in near isothermal equilibrium. A central cavity is identified, probably related with the outflow and also revealed by the H alpha and [SII] emission, with several young stellar objects near its inner walls. Both filaments show clear signs of perturbation by the high-velocity gas of the outflows driven by one or several young stellar objects of the cluster. The blue and red filaments are coherent in velocity and have nearly subsonic gas motions, except at the position of the embedded sources. Velocity gradients across the blue filament can be interpreted either as infalling material onto the filament or rotation. Velocity gradients along the filaments are interpreted as infall motions toward a gravitational well at the intersection of the two filaments.

Aims. In this paper, we study the dense gas of the molecular cloud LDN 1287 (L1287), which harbors a double FU Ori system, an energetic molecular outflow, and a still-forming cluster of deeply embedded low-mass young stellar objects that show a high level of fragmentation. Methods. We present optical H α and [S II ], and VLA NH 3 (1, 1) and (2, 2) observations with an angular resolution of ~3′′.5. The observed NH 3 spectra have been analyzed with the Hyperfine Structure tool, fitting simultaneously three different velocity components. Results. The NH 3 emission from L1287 comes from four different structures: a core associated with RNO 1, a guitar-shaped core (the Guitar) and two interlaced filaments (the blue and red filaments) roughly centered toward the binary FU Ori system RNO 1B/1C and its associated cluster. Regarding the Guitar core, there are clear signatures of gas infall onto a central mass that has been estimated to be ~2.1 M ⊙ . Regarding the two filaments, they have radii of ~0.03 pc, masses per unit length of ~50 M ⊙ pc −1 , and are in near isothermal equilibrium. A central cavity is identified, probably related with the outflow and also revealed by the H α and [S II ] emission, with several young stellar objects near its inner walls. Both filaments show clear signs of perturbation by the high-velocity gas of the outflows driven by one or several young stellar objects of the cluster. The blue and red filaments are coherent in velocity and have nearly subsonic gas motions, except at the position of the embedded sources. Velocity gradients across the blue filament can be interpreted either as infalling material onto the filament or rotation. Velocity gradients along the filaments are interpreted as infall motions toward a gravitational well at the intersection of the two filaments.

We present UV spectra of the protoplanetary nebula (pPN) Hen3-1475 obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). Our deep, low-dispersion spectroscopy enables monochromatic imaging of Hen3-1475 in UV nebular emission lines, the first of such attempt ever made for a pPN. The high spatial resolution of STIS imaging allows an unprecedentedly sharp view of the S-shaped jet, especially the inner NW1 knot, which is resolved into four components in the MgII 2800 line emission. Through critical comparison with HST optical narrowband images, we found a negative radial velocity gradient in NW1, from -1550 km/s on its innermost component to about -300 km/s on the outermost. Despite their high radial velocities, these components of NW1 mostly show no obvious (or very small) proper motions, indicating that they might be quasi-stationary shocks near the tip of the conical flow along the collimated jet of Hen3-1475.

Collimated outflows and jets play a critical role in shaping planetary nebulae (PNe), especially in the brief transition from a spherical AGB envelope to an aspherical PN, which is called the protoplanetary nebula (pPN) phase. We present UV observations of Hen 3-1475, a bipolar pPN with fast, highly collimated jets, obtained with STIS on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST). The deep, low-dispersion spectroscopy enabled monochromatic imaging of Hen 3-1475 in different UV nebular emission lines; this is the first of such attempt ever conducted for a pPN. The northwest inner knot (NW1) is resolved into four components in Mg ii λ 2800. Through comparison analysis with the HST optical narrowband images obtained 6 yr earlier, we found that these components of NW1 hardly move, despite of a negative gradient of high radial velocities, from −1550 km s - 1 on the innermost component to ∼−300 km s - 1 on the outermost. These NW1 knot components might thus be quasi-stationary shocks near the tip of the conical outflow of Hen 3-1475.

ABSTRACT Observations of several protostellar jets show systematic differences in radial velocity transverse to the jet propagation direction that have been interpreted as evidence of rotation in the jets. In this paper we discuss the origin of these velocity shifts, and show that they could originate from rotation in the flow, or from side-to-side asymmetries in the shock velocity, which could be due to asymmetries in the jet ejection velocity/density or in the ambient medium. For typical poloidal jet velocities (∼100–200 km s −1 ), an asymmetry ≳10% can produce velocity shifts comparable to those observed. We also present three-dimensional numerical simulations of rotating, precessing, and asymmetric jets, and show that, even though for a given jet there is a clear degeneracy between these effects, a statistical analysis of jets with different inclination angles can help to distinguish between the alternative origins of transverse velocity shifts (TVSs). Our analysis indicates that side-to-side velocitiy asymmetries could represent an important contribution to TVSs, being the most important contributor for large jet inclination angles (with respect the the plane of the sky), and cannot be neglected when interpreting the observations.

We propose an asymmetrical jet-ejection mechanism in order to model the mirror symmetry observed in the lobe distribution of some protoplanetary nebulae (pPNs), such as the pPN CRL 618. Three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of a precessing jet launched from an orbiting source were carried out, including an alternation in the ejections of the two outflow lobes, depending on which side of the precessing accretion disk is hit by the accretion column from a Roche lobe-filling binary companion. Both synthetic optical emission maps and position–velocity diagrams were obtained from the numerical results with the purpose of carrying out a direct comparison with observations. Depending on the observer's point of view, multipolar morphologies are obtained that exhibit a mirror symmetry at large distances from the central source. The obtained lobe sizes and their spatial distributions are in good agreement with the observed morphology of the pPN CRL 618. We also obtain that the kinematic ages of the fingers are similar to those obtained in the observations.

The propagation of a shock wave into a medium is expected to heat the material beyond the shock, producing noticeable effects in intensity line ratios such as [O III]/H alpha. To investigate the occurrence of shocks in planetary nebulae (PNe), we have used all narrowband [O III] and H alpha images of PNe available in the HST archive to build their [O III]/H alpha ratio maps and to search for regions where this ratio is enhanced. Regions with enhanced [O III]/H alpha emission ratio can be ascribed to two different types of morphological structures: bow-shock structures produced by fast collimated outflows and thin skins enveloping expanding nebular shells. Both collimated outflows and expanding shells are therefore confirmed to generate shocks in PNe. We also find regions with depressed values of the [O III]/H alpha ratio which are found mostly around density bounded PNe, where the local contribution of [N II] emission into the F656N H alpha filter cannot be neglected.

We have found that the ballistic trajectory of a precessing, orbiting and time-dependent velocity jet has a semi-analytical solution. Bipolar, multipolar and S-like morphologies, which are observed in young protoplanetary and planetary nebula (PPN and PN, respectively), can be reproduced by setting different values for the ratio between dynamical time and precession periods, the ratio between the precession and orbital periods, and the jet velocity variability period. We have also computed numerical simulations and find a good agreement with the semi-analytical solution for a jet 10(3) times denser than the surrounding environment.

DG Tau B is a Class I young stellar source that drives the asymmetric HH 159 bipolar jet. At optical wavelengths it is obscured by circumstellar optically-thick material. Using VLA and JVLA observations, we determine for the first time the proper motions of this source and find them to be consistent, within error, with those of the nearby young star DG Tau. We also discuss an ejection event that is evident in the 1994 VLA data. As the optical and molecular outflows, this ejection traced in the radio continuum is markedly asymmetric and was detected only to the NW of the star. We propose that this knot, no longer detectable in the radio, could be observed in future optical images of DG Tau B. The positions of the VLA source and of a nearby infrared object are not coincident and we suggest that the VLA source traces the exciting object, while the infrared source could be a reflection lobe.

We present new [S II] images of the Herbig-Haro (HH) 30 jet and counterjet observed in 2006, 2007, and 2010 that, combined with previous data, allowed us to measure with improved accuracy the positions and proper motions of the jet and counterjet knots. Our results show that the motion of the knots is essentially ballistic, with the exception of the farthest knots, which trace the large-scale "C"-shape bending of the jet. The observed bending of the jet can be produced by a relative motion of the HH 30 star with respect to its surrounding environment, caused either by a possible proper motion of the HH 30 star, or by the entrainment of environment gas by the red lobe of the nearby L1551-IRS5 outflow. Alternatively, the bending can be produced by the stellar wind from a nearby classical T Tauri star, identified in the Two Micron All Sky Survey catalog as J04314418+181047. The proper motion velocities of the knots of the counterjet show more variations than those of the jet. In particular, we identify two knots of the counterjet that have the same kinematic age but whose velocities differ by almost a factor of two. Thus, it appears from our observations that counterjet knots launched simultaneously can be ejected with very different velocities. We confirm that the observed wiggling of the jet and counterjet arises from the orbital motion of the jet source in a binary system. Precession, if present at all, is of secondary importance in shaping the jet. We derive an orbital period of tau(0) = 114 +/- 2 yr and a mass function of m mu(3)(c) = 0.014 +/- 0.006 M-circle dot. For a mass of the system of m = 0.45 +/- 0.04 M-circle dot (the value inferred from observations of the CO kinematics of the disk), we obtain a mass of m (j) = 0.31 +/- 0.04 M-circle dot for the jet source, a mass of m (c) = 0.14 +/- 0.03 M-circle dot for the companion, and a binary separation of a = 18.0 +/- 0.6 AU. This binary separation coincides with the value required to account for the size of the inner hole observed in the disk, which has been attributed to tidal truncation in a binary system.

We present narrow-band optical and near-IR, images, and high-resolution long-slit spectra of the planetary nebula Hu 1-2 that allow us to make a detailed description of its unusual morphology and internal kinematics. The data also reveal that the ansae of Hu 1-2 probably represent bow-shocks associated to high velocity outflows that are irradiated from the central star.

We have carried out 3D hydrodynamic simulations of precessing, variable ejection velocity bipolar jets in order to model multipolar protoplanetary (or planetary) nebulae. For these nebulae, we assume a binary source, with an asymptotic giant branch primary star which ejects an isotropic wind, and a companion which ejects the bipolar jet system. We find that it is possible to relate the large-scale morphological characteristics of these nebulae (lobe size, semi-aperture angle, number of observed lobes) to some of the parameters of the binary system, such as the ratio between the orbital and precession periods, the ratio between the masses of the binary components and the major axis of the elliptical orbit. Our results show that synthetic nebulae with well-defined lobe morphologies (resembling many of the observed multipolar planetary nebulae) are obtained from our models.

We carried out three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations (employing the yguazú-a code) of a precessing jet launched by a star in a binary system. Synthetic scattered light intensity maps were generated in order to compare them with images of the Red Rectangle proto-planetary nebula (PPN), which contains the binary system HD 44179. Our results show that the angular size, the global biconical or hourglass morphology, and the existence of its "ladder rungs" features can be explained in terms of a jet precessing with a period 20 times the orbital period of the HD 44179 system, a semi-angle of 30° (of the precession cone), and a velocity of 300 km s−1. In addition, we calculated the flux predicted from the models, which is of the same order of magnitude as the observed flux in the outer regions of the nebula. Finally, the orbital motion was found to have a negligible influence on the large-scale morphology of the PPN.

We present here the kinematic structure and the excitation conditions of the collimated outflows of the proto-planetary nebula CRL 618 based on high spatial resolution spectroscopy obtained with STIS onboard HST. The spectra obtained show a linear increase of the radial velocity with distance to the central source. We find that the emission line ratios observed in the clumpy lobes of CRL 618 are similar to high or low-excitation HH excitation class depending on the emission line ratio.

We have computed a series of axisymmetric simulations of a cloudlet travelling away from a photoionizing source to reproduce the emission arising from the compact knots observed in some Planetary Nebulae. The predicted spectra agree approximately with the observed spectra when shown in two-line ratio diagnostic diagrams. The predicted and observed spatial distributions of the emission (with high ionization lines extending more towards the source than lower ionization lines) agree in a qualitative way.

We present three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of a jet launched from the secondary star of a binary system inside a protoplanetary nebula. The secondary star moves around the primary in a close eccentric orbit. From the gasdynamic simulations we compute synthetic [N ii] λ 6583 emission maps. Different jet axis inclinations with respect to the orbital plane, as well as different orientations of the flow with respect to the observer, are considered. For some parameter combinations, we obtain structures that show point- or mirror-symmetric morphologies depending on the orientation of the flow with respect to the observer. Furthermore, our models can explain some of the emission distribution asymmetries that are summarized in the classification given by Soker & Hadar.