Early Science with the Large Millimetre Telescope: Molecules in the Extreme Outflow of a proto-Planetary Nebula

Extremely high velocity emission likely related to jets is known to occur in some proto-Planetary Nebulae. However, the molecular complexity of this kinematic component is largely unknown. We observed the known extreme outflow from the proto-Planetary Nebula IRAS 16342-3814, a prototype water fountain, in the full frequency range from 73 to 111 GHz with the RSR receiver on the Large Millimetre Telescope. We detected the molecules SiO, HCN, SO, and 13CO. All molecular transitions, with the exception of the later are detected for the first time in this source, and all present emission with velocities up to a few hundred km s−1. IRAS 16342-3814 is therefore the only source of this kind presenting extreme outflow activity simultaneously in all these molecules, with SO and SiO emission showing the highest velocities found of these species in proto-Planetary Nebulae. To be confirmed is a tentative weak SO component with a FWHM ∼ 700 km s−1. The extreme outflowgas consists of dense gas (nH2 > 104.8–105.7 cm−3), with a mass larger than ∼ 0.02–0.15 M⊙. The relative high abundances of SiO and SO may be an indication of an oxygen-rich extreme high velocity gas.