Precession of Collimated Outflows from Young Stellar Objects

Abstract

We consider several protostellar systems in which either a precessing jet or at least two misaligned jets have been observed. We assume that the precession of jets is caused by tidal interactions in noncoplanar binary systems. For Cep E, V1331 Cyg, and RNO 15-FIR, the inferred orbital separations and disk radii are in the range 4-160 AU and 1-80 AU, respectively, consistent with those expected for pre-main-sequence stars. Furthermore, we assume or use the fact that the source of misaligned outflows is a binary and evaluate the length scale over which the jets should precess as a result of tidal interactions. For T Tau, HH1 VLA 1/2, and HH 24 SVS63, it may be possible to detect a bending of the jets rather than "wiggling." In HH 111 IRS and L1551 IRS5, wiggling may be detected on the current observed scale. Our results are consistent with the existence of noncoplanar binary systems in which tidal interactions induce jets to precess.