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IRAS 05358+3543: Multiple outflows at the earliest stages of massive star formation

We present a high-angular-resolution molecular line and millimeter continuum study of the massive star formation site IRAS 05358+3543. The most remarkable feature is a highly collimated (collimation factor ~10) and massive (>10 M_sun) bipolar outflow of 1 pc length, which is part of a quadrupolar outflow system. The three observed molecular outflows forming the IRAS 05358+3543 outflow system resemble, in structure and collimation, those typical of low-mass star-forming regions. They might therefore, just like low-mass outflows, be explained by shock entrainment models of jets. We estimate a mass accretion rate of 10^{-4) M_sun/yr, sufficient to overcome the radiative pressure of the central object and to build up a massive star, lending further support to the hypothesis that massive star formation occurs similarly to low-mass star formation, only with higher accretion rates and energetics.