The low-mass YSO CB230-A: investigating the protostar and its jet with NIR spectroscopy and Spitzer observations

Context. To investigate the earliest phases of star formation and study how newly-born stars interact with the surrounding medium, we performed a line and continuum survey at NIR and mm-wavelengths of a sample of relatively isolated Bok globules. Aims. We present a follow-up observational program of a star-forming site in the globule CB230. From narrow-band continuum observations of this site, we had discovered a bright [FeII] jet, which originates in the low-mass YSO CB230-A. We aim to investigate the physical properties of the region from where the jet is launched. Methods. Our analysis was carried out using low-resolution NIR spectra acquired with the camera NICS at the TNG telescope, with JH and HK grisms and a 1 arcsec-wide slit. These observational data were complemented with infrared photometric data from the Spitzer space telescope archive. Results. The relevant physical properties of CB230- A were constrained by SED fitting of fluxes from the NIR to the mm. The YSO spectrum exhibits a significant number of atomic and molecular emission lines and absorption features. The characteristics of this spectrum suggest that we are observing a region in the close vicinity of CB230- A, i.e. its photosphere and/or an active accretion disk. The spectra of the knots in the jet contain a large number of emission lines, including a rich set of [FeII] lines. Emission due to H2 and [FeII] are not spatially correlated, confirming that [FeII] and H2 are excited by different mechanisms, in agreement with the models where [FeII] traces dissociative J-shocks and molecular hydrogen traces slower C-shocks. By using intensity ratios involving density-sensitive [FeII] lines, we estimated the electron densities along the jet to be 6 x 10(3)-1 x 10(4) cm(-3). This indicates either high density post-shock regions of ionised gas or regions with a high degree of ionisation. Conclusions. By combining the present data with previously obtained maps at NIR- and mm- wavelengths, the emerging scenario is that CB230- A is a Class 0/I YSO driving an atomic jet that is observed to be almost monopolar probably due to its inclination to the plane of the sky and the resulting higher extinction of its red side. This primary jet appears to be sufficiently energetic to open the cavity visible in the NIR images and drive the large-scale molecular outflow observed at mm- wavelengths. CB230- A was revealed to be a good location to test the innermost structure of accreting low-mass protostars.