Astron. Astrophys. 343, 266-272 (1999)

An investigation of the B335 region through far infrared spectroscopy with ISO ^*

B. Nisini ¹, M. Benedettini ¹, T. Giannini ^1,2,3, P.E. Clegg ⁴, A.M. Di Giorgio ¹, S.J. Leeks ⁴, R. Liseau ⁵, D. Lorenzetti ², S. Molinari ⁶, P. Saraceno ¹, L. Spinoglio ¹, E. Tommasi ⁷, G.J. White ⁴ and H.A. Smith <sup>8

1</sup> CNR-Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, Area di Ricerca Tor Vergata, via Fosso del Cavaliere, I-00133 Roma, Italy
² Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, I-00040 Monteporzio, Italy
³ Istituto Astronomico, Università "La Sapienza", via Lancisi 29, I-00161 Roma, Italy
⁴ Physics Department, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, Mile End Road, London E1 4NS, UK
⁵ Stockholm Observatory, S-133 36 Saltsjöbaden, Sweden
⁶ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
⁷ Agenzia Spaziale Italiana, via di Villa Patrizi 13, I-00161 Roma, Italy
⁸ Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge MA, USA

Received 18 May 1998 / Accepted 28 October 1998

Abstract

We present far infrared spectra of the B335 dark cloud region, obtained with the Long Wavelength Spectrometer (LWS) on-board the ISO satellite. Deep spectra were obtained towards the far infrared outflow exciting source, located in the B335 core, and on the three associated Herbig Haro (HH) objects HH119 A, B and C. In addition, a region of about 9´ in RA and 4´ in Dec. was mapped which covers the whole molecular outflow.

[CII]158 µm emission was found to be uniformly distributed across the observed region, with the intensity expected for a photodissociation region excited by the average interstellar field. The [OI]63µm emission was detected only towards two out of the three HH objects and from the B335 FIR source; excitation from the high-velocity shocks responsible for the HH119 knots can account for the observed line intensity. CO line emission from the rotational levels J=15 to J=18 was detected only towards B335 FIR and can be modelled as arising in warm gas whose excitation temperature is in the range 150-800 K, located in a compact ( 10^-3 pc) and dense ( 10⁶ cm^-3) region. If we assume that the CO J = 65 line observed from the ground is also emitted from the same gas component, we derive for this component a temperature of 350 K and a density of 510⁵ cm^-3. Current collapse models for the B335 core fail to predict the presence of such warm gas in the infalling source envelope, at the spatial scales implied by our model fit. It is likely that the molecular emission is excited in a low-velocity ( 10 km s^-1) non-dissociative shock, originating at the base of the flow.

Key words: stars: formation ISM: B 335 ISM: HH 119 ISM: jets and outflows infrared: ISM: lines and bands

* Based on observations with ISO, an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States and with the participation of ISAS and NASA

Send offprint requests to: B. Nisini (bruni@taurus.ifsi.rm.cnr.it)

SIMBAD Objects

Contents

• 1. Introduction
• 2. Observations and results
• 3. Discussion
  • 3.1. The [CII]158 diffuse emission
  • 3.2. The HH objects
  • 3.3. B335 FIR
    • 3.3.1. [OI] emission
    • 3.3.2. CO emission
  • 3.4. Discussion on the different shock components
• 4. Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• References

© European Southern Observatory (ESO) 1999

Online publication: March 1, 1999
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