Observations of Interstellar Water Vapor in Outflow Regions

Abstract

We have observed the 110-101 transition of interstellar water vapor near 557 GHz toward the three outflow sources NGC 2071, L1157, and NGC 1333 IRAS 4 using the Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite. In each case, the observations reveal broad emission from water in the outflow accompanied by a narrow absorption feature at the velocity of the quiescent gas. Our estimates of the average ortho-water abundance within the outflowing gas lie in the range (0.5-1.6) × 10-6 relative to H2.