# A molecular outflow traced by SiO masers in Orion-KL1footnote 11footnote 1To appear in the Astrophyical Journal Letters

## 1 Introduction

The Orion-KL nebula is a complex region of star formation whose proximity (450 pc; Genzel & Stutzki (1989)) provides us with a unique opportunity to study Young Stellar Objects and their environments. At the heart of the nebula lies the bright infrared source IRc2 which provides most of the $`10^5L_{}`$ output of the region (Werner et al. (1983)). Strong SiO masers are associated with this core region which are centered not on IRc2 but have at their centroid the nearby (0.5 as) radio continuum source “I” (Wright et al. (1995); Menten & Reid (1995)). The current interpretation is that “I” indicates the position of a massive young star and that IRc2 comprises illuminated inhomogeneities in the surrounding dust envelope. The high excitation temperature ($`1800`$ K) of the compact v=1 J=$`10`$ SiO masers make them valuable probes of the environment close to “I”.

Based primarily on relatively low angular resolution data, a model of the Orion-KL SiO masers has been developed which features a rotating, expanding, possibly protoplanetary disk of inner radius $`40`$AU and of outer radius $`80`$AU (Barvainis (1984)). The best structural evidence for this model comes from spatially averaged spot maps obtained by connected element interferometers (Plambeck et al. (1990); Morita et al. (1992); Wright et al. (1995); Baudry et al., (1998)). Such images can accurately ($`0.0015\mathrm{}`$) map the centroids of emission at different velocities; but they reveal nothing about the spatial structure of the masers at any given velocity on angular scales smaller than $`1\mathrm{}`$. Early attempts at higher-resolution study using VLBI (Greenhill et al. (1988); Colomer et al. (1992)) indicated complex structure, but did not critically test the disk model.

More recently, Schwartz et al. (1997) used the VLBA to create spot maps of SiO masers in Orion and concluded that an alternative explanation of maser genesis in a bipolar outflow was possible. In this Letter we present full-resolution ($``$0.2mas, $``$0.1 A.U.) VLBA images of the Orion v=1 J=1$``$0 SiO masers. These images, in conjunction with published results from studies of water masers and thermal SiO emission, allow us to discuss a model involving a turbulent bipolar outflow oriented quite close to the line of sight, with a flaring geometry. In such a model, masers occur in shocked gas near the boundaries of the flow, and the unique luminosity of the SiO masers in Orion KL may be explained by fortuitous orientation.

## 2 Observations

We observed the Orion SiO masers ($`\alpha =5^h35^m14\stackrel{\mathrm{s}}{\mathrm{.}}505,\lambda =5\mathrm{°}22\mathrm{}30\stackrel{}{\mathrm{.}}45`$ (J2000) (Wright et al. (1990))) along with continuum calibrators on Dec 13, 1997 for a total of 10 hours. The array consisted of seven VLBA antennas combined with one element of the VLA. Full polarization recordings of the v=1 J=1$``$0 ($`\nu _{\text{rest}}=43122.027`$MHz) transition were made using a bandpasse of 8MHz, covering both the blue and red wings of the double-peaked SiO maser spectrum. Data were correlated at the NRAO Socorro facility, using 512 spectral channels (15.6 kHz resolution = 0.109 km/s). Only RR and LL products were used in forming the Stokes I images reported on here; the full polarization data set will be presented elsewhere.

## 3 Calibration and Imaging

The NRAO AIPS software package was used for all data reduction. The data were amplitude calibrated using the total-power spectra as implemented in the AIPS task ACFIT. This technique determines antenna gains that are contemporaneous with data collection and corrects for antenna pointing errors. To calibrate the instrumental delay for each antenna, a fringe fit of the nearby continuum calibrator 0420-014 was performed. The resulting delay solutions for each antenna varied by only $`2`$ns over the entire run resulting in estimated phase errors of no more than $`6\mathrm{°}`$ accross the bandpass. Fringe rates were determined by fringe fitting to the brightest spectral feature in the red-shifted wing of the cross power spectrum ($`V_{\text{lsr}}=15.9\text{km}\text{s}^1`$). High SNR solutions were obtained for all stations and over the entire time range of the observations.

It became immediately apparent that in most channels, emission was spread over a region $`100`$ milliarcseconds in size. We therefore imaged the entire field at low angular and spectral resolution after a crude initial self-calibration, in order to locate emission suitable for accurate self-calibration. Fortunately, most of the compact SiO maser emission in Orion occurs in a handful of localized regions a few tens of milliarcseconds across which made it possible to simultaneously image regions $``$150 mas apart while accounting for all important maser features. A suitable reference channel at $`V_{\text{lsr}}=12.2\text{km}\text{s}^1`$ was identified whose emission was contained entirely within a single sub-field. Self-calibration solutions for this channel were applied to the entire data set from which image cubes were then formed.

Due to space constraints, we show images of the subfields A-H in Fig. 1 that represent the sum of all velocity channels. These images reveal the overall morphology of the masing region, but do not show certain low-level features visible in individual velocity channels or groups of channels which may be described and interpreted in the text below.

## 4 Characteristics of the Maser Emission

In accord with past and lower resolution observations, the bulk of the emission is contained in an area of diameter $``$250mas ($``$110 AU). There are four main regions of emission, namely subfields A, B, (F+G) and H in Fig. 1. The disposition of these regions has obvious symmetry, with the center of symmetry close to the intersection of lines joining subfields B and G, and subfields A and H. Subfields A and B dominate the red wing, while subfields (F+G) and H dominate the blue wing. A line drawn through the center of symmetry in position angle $``$45 degrees cleanly separates blue-wing emission from red-wing emission. Below, we refer to the region north and west of this line as the “red zone”, and the region south and east of it as the “blue zone”.

The symmetry properties of the structure extend to the substructure visible in the various regions. Each region has a direction defined by the presence of long, parallel filaments of emission. These directions do not intersect at the overall center of symmetry, yet are roughly parallel in regions B and G, and in regions A and H (the filaments in A are more apparent in the individual channel maps, not displayed). The filaments, if extrapolated, form a “V” in both the blue and red zones of emission whose apex lies short of the center of symmetry, within the respective zones.

Beyond these large-scale symmetries and filaments, the chaotic nature of both the velocity and spatial structures, and the range of linear scales on which they occur, implies that the masers arise in a turbulent medium. Fig 2. shows a velocity-position contour image of Field G. Integrated intensity is shown as a function of velocity and RA across the long horizontal filaments. A total velocity extent of $`8.3`$km/s characterizes the clumps and filaments in this grouping, underscoring the turbulent nature of the masing gas. Such a chaotic velocity field contrasts sharply with the smooth flow assumed by Plambeck et al. (1990) in their disk model. The spectrum and structure derived from a rotating and expanding disk will depend sensitively on the lack of turbulent motion in the model. In addition, we find no significant compact emission present between subfields A and B, or between subfields (F+G) and H, in contrast to the simplest interpretation of previous connected-element interferometer data. The velocity gradients seen in both zones by lower resolution arrays, are the principle phenomenon which the disk model seeks to explain. Our results indicate that the gradients are probably artifacts of overlapping spectra of distinct emission regions. They may be a simple consequence of random turbulent motions, or due to some large scale flow which is not disk-like in nature.

We caution that the detailed disposition of the more diffuse SiO maser emission has yet to be determined. Only about half of the total SiO emission is represented in the images of Fig.1., though data on our shorter baselines indicates that substantially more emission than this is present in spatially somewhat less compact structures. The insets show total-power spectra of the red and blue wings respectively with the relative cross-power contributions from each sub-field. The spectrum of the remaining emission (shown as the dotted line in the lower right quadrant of each inset) represents emission in features too weak or too extended to be imaged with the array. In both red and blue wings, these spectra are similar in shape to the total-power spectra but are significantly smoother, as might be expected for spatially more extended emission. Weak compact emission is certainly present outside the subfields that were imaged, but this constitutes at most a few percent of the total compact emission, and is considered unimportant to the analysis in the next section.

## 5 Discussion

It has become clear that larger-scale molecular outflows and structures are also centered on the continuum source “I”. Gaume et al. (1998) show conclusively that the ‘shell’ water masers first isolated by Moran et al. (1977) are centered, as are the SiO masers, on “I” in a region roughly $`2.5\mathrm{}`$ long, highly elongated in a PA of $`45\mathrm{°}`$. The ‘shell’ masers must be closely related to the SiO masers, because the double-peaked velocity profile of the water maser lines accurately mimics that of the SiO masers. This important link was noted early in the study of the Orion KL masers (Snyder & Buhl (1974); Moran et al. (1977); Genzel et al. (1979)).

In close proximity to “I” are other emission features which may be dynamically separate from the SiO masers. On the same scales as the ‘shell’ water masers, SiO v=0 J=2$`1`$ emission forms a ‘bow-tie’ oriented to the NE and SW and centered on “I” (Wright et al. (1995)). Genzel & Stutzki (1989) have referred to this as a low velocity molecular flow but a flared disk morphology is also possible. On larger scales, a high velocity outflow is aligned to the NW and SE. Wright et al. (1995) trace this component with SiO v=0 J=2$`1`$ in which they see a weakly bipolar flow out to distances of $`30\mathrm{}`$. In CO J=1-0, Chernin & Wright (1996) follow this outflow over a velocity range of $`\pm 50`$km/s which covers the same spatial extent.

In light of these probably related phenomena, any interpretation of the SiO maser structures and kinematics should relect the overall properties of the region. The rotating expanding disk model notably fails to integrate these associated phenomena into a global picture and is not supported by our VLBI results. This leads us to synthesize a new model which accounts more naturally for the various properties of the region surrounding source “I”.

We propose that the kinematics in this region is best pictured as a constant velocity bipolar outflow whose interface with a surrounding ambient medium produces shocks and overdensities leading to both water and SiO maser formation. The outlines of the outflow are traced by the two main maser regions in both the red and blue wings and the flow direction is roughly parallel to the high velocity flow described above. Shocks at the edges of the outflow flatten into sheets presenting our line of sight with elongated and parallel maser features. Long gain paths through these shocks will mimic the tangential gain paths traced by SiO masers in circumstellar envelopes of evolved stars (Diamond et al. (1994); Doeleman et al. (1998)). This explains the lack of systematic velocity gradients along the maser filaments.

The ‘shell’ water masers, while sharing the SiO maser velocity profile, cover a highly elongated NE-SW strip. Furthermore, the velocity and spatial structure of the water masers are not clearly ordered, with both red and blue shifted emission occuring on both sides of the line of symmetry separating the red and blue SiO zones. This suggests a geometry in which the opening angle of the outflow flares as the flow travels from the SiO maser region to that of the water masers resulting in a “trumpet” shape. A simple geometric requirement accounts for the relative placement of the masers and allows both maser species to inhabit the same dynamical structure : $`\theta _s<2\theta _i<\theta _w`$. Here $`\theta _s`$ and $`\theta _w`$ are the full-width opening angles at the SiO and water masers respectively, with the inclination of the flow to our line of sight represented by $`\theta _i`$.

In this model, projection plays a central role in determining the appearance of the SiO and water emission. It is likely that in a roughly constant-velocity flow with substantial opening angle, long velocity-coherent gain paths might be preferentially found along directions parallel to the edge of the flow. We speculate that the apparent luminosity of the masers in such a model would be enhanced when the inclination of the outflow axis to the line of sight is comparable to the opening angle of the flow. Such an orientation produces long gain paths in both the approaching and receding sides of the flow. The resulting flux density enhancement would naturally account for the fact that the luminosity of the Orion KL masers dramatically outstrips that of the other known SiO masers in star forming regions, in that a fortuitous orientation renders Orion KL the only nearby member of a rare class of aligned objects.

A thorough investigation of this model and its feasibility is beyond the scope of this Letter. Results of numerical simulations incorporating the above geometry and turbulence effects will be compared with the spatial and velocity structures of our full resolution image cubes and presented elsewhere.

## 6 Figure Captions