First results of an unbiased H2 survey for protostellar jets in Orion A

We are conducting an unbiased search at lambda 2.12 mu m for embedded molecular hydrogen jets thought to be associated with very young stellar objects, deeply embedded in dense cores in the Orion A molecular cloud. As a first result, we show a 0.4 x 0.5 degree mosaic centred on the L 1641-N complex, revealing a number of previously unknown knots and chains of H-2 emission. A 5 x 5 arcmin close-up of L 1641-N shows it to be a very active region, with at least one parsec-scale jet originating in the small embedded cluster: we also show 10 mu m imaging to help identify the outflow source. Elsewhere in the mosaic, several knots in the HH 34 jet are detected for the first time in H-2 and a new, deeply embedded jet is discovered next to it. These preliminary results demonstrate the power of H-2 imaging surveys in studying the large-scale role of jets and outflows in star formation.