An irradiated jet in M 17^⋆

¹ ESO, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2, 85748 Garching bei München, Germany
e-mail: fcomeron@eso.org
² Astronomisches Rechen-Institut, Zentrum für Astronomie der Universität Heidelberg, Mönchhofstr. 12-14, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
e-mail: pasquali@ari.uni-heidelberg.de
³ European Space Astronomy Centre (ESA), PO Box, 78, 28691 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
e-mail: calves@sciops.esa.int

Received: 23 July 2012
Accepted: 23 January 2013

Abstract

Context. M 17 is one of the best studied giant HII regions in our galactic neighborhood. It should also provide a suitable environment for the class of fully ionized jets externally irradiated by the presence of nearby hot stars. However, no such jets have been observed thus far in M 17.

Aims. We report on a visible imaging survey of the M 17 nebula with the goal of identifying likely shock-excited nebulosities.

Methods. We imaged M 17 through narrow-band filters centered on the most intense visible lines of [OIII], Hα+[NII], [SII], and Hβ. We obtained follow-up spectroscopy of the only jet-like structure identified in the images. We also used published X-ray observations of M 17 obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, as well as infrared data obtained with the Very Large Telescope and with the Spitzer Space Telescope, to look for evidence of a jet-driving source.

Results. We have detected what appears to be the first jet identified in M 17 visible HII region. The jet is composed of a set of knots, two of which have significant radial velocities with respect to the HII region, and a distant arc-like bright nebulosity that may represent an early episode of intense mass loss by the jet-driving source. The follow-up spectra of the structures composing the jet, including the arc, support this interpretation by revealing intense forbidden lines of [NII] and [SII] due to enhanced collisional excitation in shocks. The presence of a X-ray source, most likely a young stellar object, at a position where the jet launching source should be expected to lie reinforces the interpretation. We identify a tentative near-infrared counterpart of the X-ray source, although it is offset by 1".9 from the nominal position of the X-ray source, which is almost three times the radius of its positional uncertainty. The very weak [OI] emission in the spectra of the jet knots and the arc suggests that they are nearly fully ionized, in agreement with the environment in which the jet is propagating.