Evolution of the Outflow in the Water Fountain Source IRAS 18043–2116

Abstract

We present the spectral and spatial evolution of H _2 O masers associated with the water fountain source IRAS 18043−2116, found in observations with the Nobeyama 45 m Telescope and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. We have found new highest-velocity components of the H _2 O masers (at the redshifted side V _LSR ≃ 376 km s ^−1 and at the blueshifted side V _LSR ≃ −165 km s ^−1 ), and the resulting velocity spread of ≃540 km s ^−1 breaks the speed record of fast jets/outflows in this type of sources. The locations of those components have offsets from the axis joining the two major maser clusters, indicating a large opening angle of the outflow (∼60°). The evolution of the maser cluster separation of ∼2.9 mas yr ^−1 and the compact (∼0.″2) CO emission source mapped with the Atacama Large Millimeter-submillimeter Array suggest a very short (∼30 yr) timescale of the outflow. We also confirmed an increase in the flux density of the 22 GHz continuum source. The properties of the jet and the continuum sources and their possible evolution in the transition to the planetary nebula phase are further discussed.

Keywords

• Water masers
• Asymptotic giant branch stars
• Astrophysical masers
• Post-asymptotic giant branch stars
• Stellar jets