SUBMILLIMETER AND NEAR-INFRARED OBSERVATIONS OF L1448 - A CURVING H2 JET WITH MULTIPLE BOW SHOCKS

A high-resolution (0.6 arcsec pixel-1), narrow-band, H-2, upsilon = 1-0 S(1) image of the high-velocity CO outflow in L1448 reveals a remarkable jet-like structure. The coincidence of this H-2 jet with the CO bipolar outflow implies a close association between the two phenomena. The H-2 jct comprises a series of knots, and three bow-shaped features equally spaced along the jet length, which we associate with the sporadic nature of this outflow. K-band imaging of the source also shows a conical reflection nebula extending towards the H-2 jet structure, whilst maps in HCO+ J = 3-2 and CS J = 5-4 show two peaks, one towards the source of the H-2 jet and CO outflow, and the other towards the infrared source IRS 3 situated to the north of this region. Together these observations suggest that the H-2 jet represents the shock interface between a stellar wind from the L1448-mm source and the surrounding molecular gas, although the CO outflow is not thought to be dependent on this interaction.