Forbidden emission line spectro-imaging of the RU Lupi jet and low-velocity component

The first images of the jet and low-velocity component (LVC) from the strongly accreting classical T Tauri star RU Lupi are presented. Adaptive optics-assisted spectro-imaging of forbidden emission lines was used. The main aim of the observations was to test the conclusion from a recent spectro-astrometric study that the narrow component (NC) of the LVC traces a magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) disk wind, and to estimate the mass-loss rate in the wind. The structure and morphology support a wind origin for the NC. The upper limit to the launch radius and semi-opening angle of the wind in [O I] λ6300 emission are estimated to be 2 au and 19°, in agreement with MHD wind models for high accretors. The height of the [O I] λ6300 wind-emitting region, a key parameter for the derivation of the mass-loss rate, is estimated for the first time at ∼35 au, giving Ṁout = 2.6 × 10−11 M⊙ yr−1. When compared to the derived mass-accretion rate of Ṁacc = 1.6 × 10−7 M⊙ yr−1, the efficiency in the wind is too low for the wind to contribute significantly to the angular momentum removal.