Gas streamers feed triple baby stars
New observations and simulations of three spiral arms of gas feeding material to three protostars forming in a trinary system have clarified the formation of multi-star systems.
Most stars with a mass similar to the Sun form in multi-star systems together with other stars. So an understanding of multi-star system formation is important to an overall theory of star formation.
However, the complexity and lack of high-resolution, high-sensitivity data left astronomers uncertain about the formation scenario. In particular, recent observations of protostars often reported structures called “streamers” of gas flows toward the protostars, but it has been unclear how these streamers form.
An international team led by Jeong-Eun Lee, a professor at Seoul National University, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to observe the trinary protostar system IRAS 04239+2436 located 460 light-years away in the constellation Taurus.
The team found that emissions from sulfur monoxide (SO) molecules trace three spiral arms around the three protostars forming in the system.
Comparison with simulations led by Tomoaki Matsumoto, a professor at Hosei University using the supercomputers “ATERUI” and “ATERUI II” in the Center for Computational Astrophysics at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) indicate that the three spiral arms are streamers feeding material to the three protostars.
The combination of observations and simulations revealed, for the first time, how the streamers are created and contribute to the growth of the protostars at the center.
Journal: The Astrophysical Journal
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/acdd5b
Method of Research: Observational study
Subject of Research: Not applicable
Article Title: Triple Spiral Arms of a Triple Protostar System Imaged in Molecular Lines
Article Publication Date 4-Aug-2023
Media Contacts
Hayao KIMURA
National Institutes of Natural Sciences
nins-kokusai@nins.jp
Office: 81-354-251-890
Naoko Inoue
NAOJ, NINS
naoko.inoue@nao.ac.jp
Original Source
https://www.nao.ac.jp/en/news/science/2023/20230804-alma.html
All latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy
This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.
innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.
Newest articles
Bringing Quantum Mechanics to Life
New ISTA assistant professor Julian Léonard makes abstract quantum properties visible. From the realm of the abstract to the tangible, the new assistant professor at the Institute of Science and…
Who moved my atom?
Researchers at the Technion Faculty of Physics have demonstrated controlled transfer of atoms using coherent tunneling between “optical tweezers”. An experimental setup built at the Technion Faculty of Physics demonstrates…
A milestone for reproductive medicine
Producing viable eggs from undeveloped oocytes through In vitro technology. Researchers successfully produce viable, embryo-forming egg cells from underdeveloped oocytes extracted from ovarian follicles. Mature egg cells, or oocytes, are…