Neon emission lines are good indicators of high-excitation regions close to a young stellar system because of their high ionization potentials and large critical densities .
We have discovered [ Ne iii ] \lambda 3869 emission from the microjets of Sz 102 , a low-mass young star in Lupus III .
Spectroastrometric analyses of two-dimensional [ Ne iii ] spectra obtained from archival high-dispersion ( R \approx 33 , 000 ) Very Large Telescope/ Uves data suggest that the emission consists of two velocity components spatially separated by \sim 0 \farcs 3 , or a projected distance of \sim 60 AU .
The stronger redshifted component is centered at \sim + 21 km s ^ { -1 } with a line width of \sim 140 km s ^ { -1 } , and the weaker blueshifted component at \sim - 90 km s ^ { -1 } with a line width of \sim 190 km s ^ { -1 } .
The two components trace velocity centroids of the known microjets and show large line widths that extend across the systemic velocity , suggesting their potential origins in wide-angle winds that may eventually collimate into jets .
Optical line ratios indicate that the microjets are hot ( T \lesssim 1.6 \times 10 ^ { 4 } K ) and ionized ( n _ { e } \gtrsim 5.7 \times 10 ^ { 4 } cm ^ { -3 } ) .
The blueshifted component has \sim 13 \% higher temperature and \sim 46 \% higher electron density than the redshifted counterpart , forming a system of asymmetric pair of jets .
The detection of the [ Ne iii ] \lambda 3869 line with the distinct velocity profile suggests that the emission originates in flows that may have been strongly ionized by deeply embedded hard X-ray sources , most likely generated by magnetic processes .
The discovery of [ Ne iii ] \lambda 3869 emission along with other optical forbidden lines from Sz 102 support the picture of wide-angle winds surrounding magnetic loops in the close vicinity of the young star .
Future high sensitivity X-ray imaging and high angular-resolution optical spectroscopy may help confirm the picture proposed .