1999ApJ...515..696O

We present far-infrared and submillimeter images and millimeter-continuum photometry for L1448 IRS 2, a low-luminosity (5.2 L_☉), embedded young stellar object discovered by IRAS. New far-infrared maps were produced from the archival IRAS data via high-resolution (HIRES) processing, the name given to the implementation of the maximum correlation method for image construction from the IRAS data streams. The HIRES-processed images of L1448 IRS 2 presented here have effective resolutions of ∼35''x28'', ∼35''x37'', and ∼45''x40'' at 25, 60, and 100 µm, respectively, which represent an order of magnitude improvement over previously available far-infrared maps. L1448 IRS 2 was mapped at 450 and 850 µm, and we acquired continuum photometry at 1.3 mm. With these new data, we plot the most complete spectral energy distribution for L1448 IRS 2 to date. We also present sensitive ¹²CO J=1⟶0 emission-line maps of a 47'x7' area of the L1448 dark cloud, centered on L1448 IRS 2, obtained with the on-the-fly imaging capability of the NRAO 12 m telescope. As a direct consequence of this mapping, we have discovered a parsec-scale molecular outflow associated with L1448 IRS 2. The combined continuum and molecular line data confirm the classification of L1448 IRS 2 as a new member of the rare, short-lived (a few x10⁴ yr), Class 0 phase of protostellar evolution. The use of HIRES imaging of IRAS data as a promising tool for identifying protostellar candidates is demonstrated by the example of L1448 IRS 2.