We have used the integral field spectrograph OSIRIS and laser guide star
adaptive optics at Keck Observatory to obtain high angular resolution (0.06"),
moderate spectral resolution (R ~ 3800) images of the bipolar jet from the
Herbig Ae star LkHa 233, seen in near-IR [Fe II] emission at 1.600 & 1.644
microns. This jet is narrow and tightly collimated, with an opening angle of
only 9 degrees, and has an average radial velocity of ~ 100 km/s. The jet and
counterjet are asymmetric, with the red-shifted jet much clumpier than its
counterpart at the angular resolution of our observations. The observed
properties are in general similar to jets seen around T Tauri stars, though it
has a relatively large mass flux of (1.2e-7 +- 0.3e-7) M_sun/year, near the
high end of the observed mass flux range around T Tauri stars. We also
spatially resolve an inclined circumstellar disk around LkHa 233, which
obscures the star from direct view. By comparison with numerical radiative
transfer disk models, we estimate the disk midplane to be inclined i = 65 +- 5
degrees relative to the plane of the sky. Since the star is seen only in
scattered light at near-infrared wavelengths, we detect only a small fraction
of its intrinsic flux. Because previous estimates of its stellar properties did
not account for this, either LkHa 233 must be located closer than the
previously believed, or its true luminosity must be greater than previously
supposed, consistent with its being a ~4 M_sun star near the stellar birthline.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Ap