Observations of molecular jets in Orion A

We report on the results of a wide field near infrared survey for protostellar jets identified via their emission in the 2.12μm line of shock heated molecular hydrogen, done over a 1.2 square degree area in Orion A. We derive an evolutionary sequence for protostellar jets, based on the observed lenghts and H₂ luminosities as well as the evolutionary stage and bolometric luminosity of their driving sources. Protostellar jets start from zero length, evolve quickly to parsec scale extents during the Class 0 phase, and shrink during the Class I and Class II phase. They are first very bright in H₂ emission, and fade later on. This is indicative of strongly time-variably mass accretion onto the driving protostar, with a peak early on, and a subsequent continous decay of accretion activity. Finally, we present evidence for a molecular CO jet from a Class 0 object, supporting the idea that a very efficient outflow phase at very early evolutionary stages should produce very dense, molecular jets.