The small-scale HH34 IRS jet as seen by X-shooter
  Very little information has been so far gathered on atomic jets from young
embedded low mass sources (class I stars), especially in the inner jet region.
We exploit multiwave spectroscopic observations to infer physical conditions of
the inner region of HH34 IRS, a prototypical class I jet. We use a deep
X-shooter spectrum ( lambda = 350-2300 nm, R between 8000 and 18000) detecting
lines with upper energies from 8000 to 31000 cm-1 . Statistical equilibrium and
ionization models are adopted to derive the jet main physical parameters. We
derive the physical conditions for the extended high velocity jet (HVC, V about
-100 km/s) and for the low velocity and compact gas (LVC, V about -20-50 \kms).
At the jet base (< 200 AU) the HVC is mostly neutral (x(e)< 0.1) and very dense
(n(H) > 5x10^5 cm-3). The LVC gas has the same density and A_V as the HVC, but
it is a factor of two colder. Iron abundance in the HVC is close to solar,
while it is 3 times subsolar in the LVC, suggesting an origin of the LVC gas
from a dusty disk. We infer a jet mass flux rate > 5x10^{-7} Mo/yr. We find
that the relationships between accretion luminosity and line luminosity derived
for T Tauri stars cannot be directly extended to class I sources surrounded by
reflection nebulae since the permitted lines are seen through scattered light.
An accretion rate of about 7\,10^{-6} Mo/yr is instead derived from an
empirical relationship connecting the mass accretion rate with L([OI])(HVC). In
conclusion, the HH34 IRS jet shares many properties with jets from active CTTs
stars. It is however denser as a consequence of the larger mass flux rate.
These findings suggest that the acceleration and excitation mechanisms in jets
are not influenced by evolution and are similar in CTTs and in still embedded
and highly accreting sources.
