2016MNRAS.463.2839B

Until recently, there have been few studies of the protostellar evolution of intermediate-mass (IM) stars, which may bridge the low- and high-mass regimes. This paper aims to investigate whether the properties of an IM protostar within the IRAS 05373+2349 embedded cluster are similar to that of low- and/or high-mass protostars. We carried out Very Large Array as well as Combined Array for Research in Millimeter Astronomy continuum and ¹²CO(J=1-0) observations, which uncover seven radio continuum sources (VLA 1-7). The spectral index of VLA 2, associated with the IM protostar is consistent with an ionized stellar wind or jet. The source VLA 3 is coincident with previously observed H₂ emission line objects aligned in the north-south direction (P.A. -20 to -12 ○), which may be either an ionized jet emanating from VLA 2 or (shock-)ionized cavity walls in the large-scale outflow from VLA 2. The position angle between VLA 2 and 3 is slightly misaligned with the large-scale outflow we map at ∼5-arcsec resolution in ¹²CO (P.A. ∼30○), which in the case of a jet suggests precession. The emission from the mm core associated with VLA 2 is also detected; we estimate its mass to be 12-23 M_☉, depending on the contribution from ionized gas. Furthermore, the large-scale outflow has properties intermediate between outflows from low- and high-mass young stars. Therefore, we conclude that the IM protostar within IRAS 05373+2349 is phenomenologically as well as quantitatively intermediate between the low- and high-mass domains.