CO LINE FORMATION IN BIPOLAR FLOWS .2. DECELERATED OUTFLOW CASE AND SUMMARY OF RESULTS

Following our previous study of accelerated and constant velocity fields, we now investigate CO line formation in decelerated bipolar flows. Position-velocity diagrams and integrated intensity maps are presented for four spatial configurations. These results are used together with previous computations to put constraints on the velocity field and the large-scale structure of observed flows. We suggest that observations might be best explained by a model involving filled CO lobes with a bright, accelerated, high-velocity core surrounded by a slower, low-emissivity envelope. Computed line profiles are also used to estimate the accuracy of various procedures used for deriving the flow parameters from CO data. We find that the most accurate method allows us to estimate the flow force within a factor of ∼20 and the flow mechanical luminosity within a factor of ∼60. However, different procedures applied to the same set of CO data give flow parameters that may differ by up to three orders of magnitude.