RADIO CONTINUUM EMISSION AND WATER MASERS TOWARD CB 54

We present high angular resolution observations of water masers at 1.3 cm and radio continuum emission at 1.3, 3.6, and 6 cm toward the Bok globule CB 54 using the Very Large Array. At 1.3 cm, with subarcsecond angular resolution, we detect a radio continuum compact source located to the southwest of the globule and spatially coincident with a mid-infrared (mid-IR) embedded object (MIR-b). The spectral index derived between 6 and 1.3 cm (α = 0.3 ± 0.4) is flat, consistent with optically thin free-free emission from ionized gas. We propose the shock-ionization scenario as a viable mechanism for producing the radio continuum emission observed at cm frequencies. Water masers are detected at two different positions separated by 2.''3, and coincide spatially with two mid-IR sources: MIR-b and MIR-c. The association of these mid-IR sources with water masers confirms that they are likely protostars undergoing mass loss, and they are the best candidate as driving sources of the molecular outflows in the region.