A jet-driven, extreme high-velocity outflow powered by a cold, low-luminosity protostar near NGC 2023

We have discovered an extreme high-velocity bipolar CO outflow in the vicin ity of NGC 2023, with total outflow velocities of similar to 200 km s(-1). At very high velocities this outflow is jetlike with an opening angle less than or equal to 4 degrees, while it shows a separate outflow lobe at low v elocities. The outflow is bipolar and exhibits a clear mirror symmetry, whi ch suggests that the source powering the outflow is episodic or precessing. The dynamical timescales for the outflow are less than or equal to 3000 yr . We identify the source driving the CO jet with a deeply embedded low-lumi nosity submillimeter double source (separation similar to 23 "), where the primary component lies on the symmetry axis of the outflow and has all the signatures of a "class 0" protostellar object. Analysis of molecular data a nd (sub)millimeter photometry suggests that the driving source is cold and compact, with a luminosity of less than or similar to 10 L. and a total mas s of 1.8-4.6 M.. It has no near-IR counterpart, it drives an extremely youn g outflow, and it emits a large fraction of its luminosity in the submillim eter regime. Both millimeter sources have low dust emissivity, beta similar to 0.8-1.3, similar to what is found for other class 0 objects, while the surrounding molecular cloud core appears to have a beta similar to 2.0, the canonical value for "normal" interstellar dust in the submillimeter regime .