Water distribution in shocked regions of the NGC 1333-IRAS 4A protostellar outflow

Abstract

Water is a key molecule in protostellar environments because its line emission is very sensitive to both the chemistry and the physical conditions of the gas. Observations of H2O line emission from low-mass protostars and their associated outflows performed with HIFI onboard the Herschel Space Observatory have highlighted the complexity of H2O line profiles, in which different kinematic components can be distinguished.