DISCOVERY OF A MOLECULAR-HYDROGEN JET NEAR IC-348

We present near-infrared images of a newly discovered molecular hydrogen jet (HH 211) near the young stellar cluster IC 348 in the Perseus dark cloud complex. A wide-field true-color JHK' image locates HH 211 relative to the embedded source IC 348 IR, and a high-resolution image taken in the H-2 v = 1-0 S(1) line at 2.122 mu m delineates the shock-excited gas. The jet is very young, with a dynamical age of less than 1000 yr. We suggest that the H-2 emission arises in a turbulent sheath around the true jet, leading to an unusual symmetric limb-brightened appearance. This boundary layer is probably where ambient molecular material is being entrained to form a coincident bipolar CO outflow. We discuss possible models for the knots in HH 211, including internal working surfaces in an episodic outflow and crossing shocks in a recollimating jet. The exciting source of the jet and outflow was detected at lambda greater than or equal to 350 mu m, and our observations imply that the exciting source is a young star deeply embedded in a dense NH3 core, perhaps an edge-on circumstellar disk. The HH 211 system of jet, molecular outflow, and embedded exciting source is the first discovered through near-infrared imaging.