A FEATURE MOVIE OF SiO EMISSION 20-100 AU FROM THE MASSIVE YOUNG STELLAR OBJECT ORION SOURCE I (original) (raw)
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Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union, 2007
A comprehensive picture of high-mass star formation has remained elusive, in part because examples of high-mass young stellar objects (YSOs) tend to be relatively distant, deeply embedded, and confused with other emission sources. These factors have impeded dynamical investigations within tens of AU of high-mass YSOs—scales that are critical for probing the interfaces where outflows from accretion disks are launched and collimated. Using observations of SiO masers obtained with the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA), the KaLYPSO project is overcoming these limitations by mapping the structure and dynamical/temporal evolution of the material 10-1000 AU from the nearest high-mass YSO: Radio Source I in the Orion BN/KL region. Our data include ~40 epochs of VLBA observations over a several-year period, allowing us to track the proper motions of individual SiO maser spots and to monitor changes in the physical conditions of the emitting material with time. Ul...
Peter Pan Disks: Long-lived Accretion Disks Around Young M Stars
The Astrophysical Journal, 2020
WISEA J080822.18-644357.3, an M star in the Carina association, exhibits extreme infrared excess and accretion activity at an age greater than the expected accretion disk lifetime. We consider J0808 as the prototypical example of a class of M star accretion disks at ages 20 Myr, which we call "Peter Pan" disks, since they apparently refuse to grow up. We present four new Peter Pan disk candidates identified via the Disk Detective citizen science project, coupled with Gaia astrometry. We find that WISEA J044634.16-262756.1 and WISEA J094900.65-713803.1 both exhibit significant infrared excess after accounting for nearby stars within the 2MASS beams. The J0446 system has > 95% likelihood of Columba membership. The J0949 system shows > 95% likelihood of Carina membership. We present new GMOS optical spectra of all four objects, showing possible accretion signatures on all four stars. We present ground-based and TESS lightcurves of J0808 and 2MASS J0501-4337, including a large flare and aperiodic dipping activity on J0808, and strong periodicity on J0501. We find Paβ and Brγ emission indicating ongoing accretion in near-IR spectroscopy of J0808. Using observed characteristics of these systems, we discuss mechanisms that lead to accretion disks at ages 20 Myr, and find that these objects most plausibly represent long-lived CO-poor primordial disks, or "hybrid" disks, exhibiting both debris-and primordial-disk features. The question remains: why have gas-rich disks persisted so long around these particular stars? * Visiting astronomer, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, National Optical Astronomy Observatory, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.
In Search of Circumstellar Disks around Young Massive Stars
The Astronomical Journal, 2006
We present 7 mm, 1.3 cm and 3.6 cm continuum observations made with the Very Large Array toward a sample of ten luminous IRAS sources that are believed to be regions of massive star formation. We detect compact 7 mm emission in four of these objects: IRAS 18089-1732(1), IRAS 18182-1433, IRAS 18264-1152 and IRAS 18308-0841 and for the first time find that these IRAS sources are associated with double or triple radio sources separated by a few arcseconds. We discuss the characteristics of these sources based mostly on their spectral indices and find that their nature is diverse. Some features indicate that the 7 mm emission is dominated by dust from disks or envelopes. Toward other components the 7 mm emission appears to be dominated by free-free radiation, both from ionized outflows or from optically thick H II regions. Furthermore, there is evidence of synchrotron contamination in some of these sources. Finally, we found that the sources associated with ionized outflows, or thermal jets are correlated with CH 3 OH masers. The precise determination of the nature of these objects requires additional multifrequency observations at high angular resolution. The 3.6 cm continuum observations also revealed seven UCHII regions in the vicinity of the sources IRAS 18089-1732(1) and two more in the source IRAS 18182-1433. We show that the small photoionized nebulae of these UCHII regions are produced by early B-type stars.
The First Bird’s-eye View of a Gravitationally Unstable Accretion Disk in High-mass Star Formation
The Astrophysical Journal
We report on the first bird's-eye view of the innermost accretion disk around the high-mass protostellar object G353.273+0.641, taken by Atacama Large Millimter/submillimeter Array long-baselines. The disk traced by dust continuum emission has a radius of 250 au, surrounded by the infalling rotating envelope traced by thermal CH 3 OH lines. This disk radius is consistent with the centrifugal radius estimated from the specific angular momentum in the envelope. The lower-limit envelope mass is ∼5-7 M ⊙ and accretion rate onto the stellar surface is 3 × 10 −3 M ⊙ yr −1 or higher. The expected stellar age is well younger than 10 4 yr, indicating that the host object is one of the youngest high-mass objects at present. The disk mass is 2-7 M ⊙ , depending on the dust opacity index. The estimated Toomre's Q parameter is typically 1-2 and can reach 0.4 at the minimum. These Q values clearly satisfy the classical criteria for the gravitational instability, and are consistent with the recent numerical studies. Observed asymmetric and clumpy structures could trace a spiral arm and/or disk fragmentation. We found that 70% of the angular momentum in the accretion flow could be removed via the gravitational torque in the disk. Our study has indicated that the dynamical nature of a self-gravitating disk could dominate the early phase of high-mass star formation. This is remarkably consistent with the early evolutionary scenario of a low-mass protostar.
An infrared view of (candidate accretion) disks around massive young stars
Near-infrared surveys of high-mass star-forming regions start to shed light onto their stellar content. A particular class of objects found in these regions, the so-called massive Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) are surrounded by dense circumstellar material. Several near-and mid-infrared diagnostic tools are used to infer the physical characteristics and geometry of this circumstellar matter. Near-infrared hydrogen emission lines provide evidence for a disk-wind. The profiles of the first overtone of the CO band-heads, originating in the inner 10 AU from the central star, are well fitted assuming a keplerian rotating disk. The mid-infrared spectral energy distribution requires the presence of a more extended envelope containing dust at a temperature of about 200 K. CRIRES observations of CO fundamental absorption lines confirm the presence of a cold envelope. We discuss the evolutionary status of these objects.
Formation and Evolution of Disks Around Young Stellar Objects
Space Science Reviews, 2020
Recent observations have suggested that circumstellar disks may commonly form around young stellar objects. Although the formation of circumstellar disks can be a natural result of the conservation of angular momentum in the parent cloud, theoretical studies instead show disk formation to be difficult from dense molecular cores magnetized to a realistic level, owing to efficient magnetic braking that transports a large fraction of the angular momentum away from the circumstellar region. We review recent progress in the formation and early evolution of disks around young stellar objects of both low-mass and high-mass, with an emphasis on mechanisms that may bridge the gap between observation and theory, including non-ideal MHD effects and asymmetric perturbations in the collapsing core (e.g., magnetic field misalignment and turbulence). We also address the associated processes of outflow launching and the formation of multiple systems, and discuss possible implications in properties ...
THE INTERMEDIATE-MASS YOUNG STELLAR OBJECT 08576nr292: DISCOVERY OF A DISK–JET SYSTEM
The Astrophysical Journal, 2011
We present observations of the embedded massive young stellar object (YSO) candidate 08576nr292, obtained with X-shooter and SINFONI on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). The flux-calibrated, medium-resolution X-shooter spectrum (300-2500 nm) includes over 300 emission lines, but no (photospheric) absorption lines, and is consistent with a reddened disk spectrum. Among the emission lines are three hydrogen series and helium lines, both permitted and forbidden metal lines, and CO first-overtone emission. A representative sample of lines with different morphologies is presented. The Hα and Ca ii triplet lines are very strong, with profiles indicative of outflow and-possibly-infall, usually observed in accreting stars. These lines include a blueshifted absorption component at ∼−125 km s −1 . The He i and metal-line profiles are double peaked, with a likely origin in a circumstellar disk. The forbidden lines, associated with outflow, have a single blueshifted emission component centered at −125 km s −1 , coinciding with the absorption components in Hα and Ca ii. SINFONI H-and K-band integral-field spectroscopy of the cluster environment demonstrates that the [Fe ii] emission is produced by a jet originating at the location of 08576nr292. Because the spectral type of the central object cannot be determined, its mass remains uncertain. We argue that 08576nr292 is an intermediate-mass YSO with a high accretion rate (Ṁ acc ∼ 10 −6 -10 −5 M yr −1 ). These observations demonstrate the potential of X-shooter and SINFONI to study in great detail an accretion disk-jet system, rarely seen around the more massive YSOs.
The Formation of High-Mass Stars: from High-Mass Clumps to Accretion Discs and Molecular Outflows
High-mass stars play a significant role in the evolution of the Universe and the process that leads to the formation of such objects is still an open question in Astrophysics. The details of the structures connected to the central sources, such as the circumstellar discs and the morphology of the jets at their launching points, still lack of observational evidence. In this thesis, the high-mass star forming process is investigated in terms of the evolution of high-mass clumps selected from the ATLASGAL survey based on their 12 CO emission in the sub-millimetre. While single-dish sub-millimetre observations provide a large-scale view of the high-mass star formation process, higher angular resolution observations are required to disentangle the details of the protostars within the clumps. For this, threedimensional infrared spectroscopy was obtained for a group of RMS sources to characterise the circumstellar environment of high-mass YSOs in linear scales of ∼100-1000 AU. The ATLASGAL TOP100 sample offers a unique opportunity to analyse a statistically complete sample of high-mass clumps at different evolutionary stages. APEX data of three rotational J transitions of the CO (the CO (4-3), CO (6-5) and CO (7-6)) were used to characterise the properties of their warm gas (155 K) content and to derive the relations between the CO and the clump properties. The CO line luminosities were derived and the analysis indicated that the CO emission increases as a function of the evolutionary stage of the clumps (from infrared-weak to H ii regions) and as a function of the bolometric luminosity (L bol) and mass of the sources (M clump). The comparison of the TOP100 with low-mass objects observed in the CO (6-5) and CO (7-6), together with CO (10-9) data observed for a complementary sample of objects indicated that the dependency of the CO luminosity (L CO) with the bolometric luminosity of the sources gets steeper towards higher-J transitions. Although the CO luminosity of more luminous clumps are systematically larger than the values obtained for the less luminous sources, the individual analysis of each subsample suggests a similar dependency of L CO versus L bol for each luminosity regime. Finally, the presence of high-velocity CO emission observed for the TOP100 suggests that ∼85% of the sources are driving molecular outflows. The selection of isolated high-mass objects undergoing mass accretion is fundamental to investigate if these objects are formed through an accretion disc or if they are formed by merging of low-mass YSOs. The near-infrared window provides one of the best opportunities to investigate the interior of the sub-mm clumps and study in details their individual members. Thanks to the relatively high-resolution obtained in the K-band and the moderate reddening effectsin the K-band, a sample of eight (8) HMYSOs exhibiting large-scale H 2 outflows were selected to follow-up K-band spectroscopic observations using the NIFS spectrometer (Gemini North). All sources exhibit extended continuum emission and exhibit atomic and molecular transitions typical of embedded objects, such as Brγ, H 2 and the CO lines. The H 2 lines are tracing the launching point of the large-scale jets in scales of ∼ 100 AU in five of eight sources (63%). The identification of jets at such small scales indicates that these objects are still undergoing mass accretion. The Brγ emission probes the ionised gas around the HMYSOs. The analysis of the Brγ spectro-astrometry at sub-pixel scales suggests that the line arises from the cavity of the outflows or from rotating structures perpendicular to the H 2 jets (i.e., disc). Five sources also exhibit CO emission features (63%), and three HMYSOs display CO absorption features (38%), indicating that they are likely associated with circumstellar discs. By further investigating the kinematics of the spatially resolved CO absorption features, the Keplerian mass of three sources was estimated in 5±3, 8±5 and 30±10 M ⊙. These results support that high-mass stars are formed through discs, similarly as observed towards low-mass stars. The comparison between the collimation degree of the molecular jets or outflows detected in the NIFS data with their large-scale counterparts indicate that these structures present a relatively wide range of collimation degrees.
Formation of a massive protostar through disk accretion
Astronomy and Astrophysics, 2007
Context. Recent observational results suggest that high-mass (proto-)stars form in a similar way to low-and intermediate-mass stars, i.e., via disk accretion of gas and dust. Aims. To further characterize and understand the ongoing physical processes associated with a large circumstellar disk, seen as a dark silhouette against the bright background of the M 17 H ii region, we report and discuss new high angular resolution integral field spectroscopy performed in the K-band. Methods. The data were taken with the Adaptive Optics (AO) supported near-infrared integral field spectrograph SINFONI at ESO's Very Large Telescope Yepun (VLT UT 4) as part of the science verification of this new instrument. Results. Based on obtained H 2 v = 1-0 S (1) and H 2 v = 1-0 S (3) emission maps, we report the discovery of a H 2 jet, which apparently arises from the suspected protostellar source(s) located at the very center of the disk. In addition, both diameter (about 4000 AU) and sub-structures of the innermost, densest part of the flared disk are infered from Br γ, Br δ, and He I maps. Conclusions. Because ejection of material through a jet/outflow is always linked to accretion of gas and dust either onto the circumstellar disk or onto the central (protostellar) source(s), the presence of a collimated H 2 jet provides indirect but unquestionable evidence for ongoing accretion processes in the case of the M 17 disk. The high mass outflow and accretion rates of >10 −5 M yr −1 derived from the SINFONI data suggest that a star of rather high mass is forming.