HST/WFC3 imaging of protostellar jets in Carina: [Fe II] emission tracing massive jets from intermediate-mass protostars

We present narrow-band Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3)-UVIS and WFC3-IR images of four externally irradiated protostellar jets in the Carina nebula: HH 666, HH 901, HH 902 and HH 1066. These massive jets are unusual because they are bathed in UV radiation from dozens of nearby O-type stars, but despite the strong incident ionizing radiation, portions of the jet remain neutral. Near-IR [Fe ii] images reveal dense, neutral gas that was not seen in previous studies of H alpha emission. We show that near-IR [Fe ii] emitting gas must be self-shielded from Lyman continuum photons, regardless of its excitation mechanism (shocks, far-ultraviolet radiation or both). High densities are required for the survival of Fe+ amid the strong Lyman continuum luminosity from Tr14, raising estimates of the mass-loss rates by an order of magnitude. Higher jet mass-loss rates require higher accretion rates on to their driving protostars, implying that these jets are driven by intermediate-mass (similar to 2-8 M-circle dot) stars. Indeed, the IR driving sources of two of these outflows have luminosities that require intermediate-mass protostars (the other two are so deeply embedded that their luminosity is uncertain). All four of these HH jets are highly collimated, with opening angles of only a few degrees, similar to those observed in low-mass protostars. We propose that these jets reflect essentially the same outflow phenomenon seen in wide-angle molecular outflows associated with intermediate- and high-mass protostars, but that the collimated atomic jet core is irradiated and rendered observable in the harsh radiative environment of the Carina nebula. In more quiescent environments, this atomic core remains invisible, and outflows traced by shock-excited molecules in the outflow cavity give the impression that these outflows have a wider opening angle. Thus, the externally irradiated jets in Carina constitute a new view of collimated jets from intermediate-mass protostars and offer strong additional evidence that stars up to at least similar to 8 M-circle dot form by the same accretion mechanisms as low-mass stars.