SPATIALLY RESOLVED OBSERVATIONS OF THE BIPOLAR OPTICAL OUTFLOW FROM THE BROWN DWARF 2MASS J12073347–3932540

Abstract

Studies of brown dwarf (BD) outflows provide information pertinent to\nquestions on BD formation, as well as allowing outflow mechanisms to be\ninvestigated at the lowest masses. Here new observations of the bipolar outflow\nfrom the 24 M$_{JUP}$ BD, 2MASSJ12073347-3932540 are presented. The outflow was\noriginally identified through the spectro-astrometric analysis of the\n[OI]$\\lambda$6300 emission line. Follow-up observations consisting of spectra\nand [SII], R-band and I-band images were obtained. The new spectra confirm the\noriginal results and are used to constrain the outflow PA at $\\sim$\n65$^{\\circ}$. The [OI]$\\lambda$6300 emission line region is spatially resolved\nand the outflow is detected in the [SII] images. The detection is firstly in\nthe form of an elongation of the point spread function along the direction of\nthe outflow PA. Four faint knot-like features (labelled {\\it A-D}) are also\nobserved to the south-west of 2MASSJ12073347-3932540 along the same PA\nsuggested by the spectra and the elongation in the PSF. Interestingly, {\\it D},\nthe feature furthest from the source is bow-shaped with the apex pointing away\nfrom 2MASSJ12073347-3932540. A color-color analysis allows us to conclude that\nat least feature {\\it D} is part of the outflow under investigation while {\\it\nA} is likely a star or galaxy. Follow-up observations are needed to confirm the\norigin of {\\it B} and {\\it C}. This is a first for a BD, as BD optical outflows\nhave to date only been detected using spectro-astrometry. This result also\ndemonstrates for the first time that BD outflows can be collimated and\nepisodic.\n