Four annular structures in a protostellar disk less than 500,000 years old

Dominique M. Segura-Cox (), Anika Schmiedeke, Jaime E. Pineda, Ian W. Stephens, Manuel Fernández-López, Leslie W. Looney, Paola Caselli, Zhi-Yun Li, Lee G. Mundy, Woojin Kwon and Robert J. Harris
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Dominique M. Segura-Cox: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Anika Schmiedeke: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Jaime E. Pineda: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Ian W. Stephens: Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian
Manuel Fernández-López: Instituto Argentino de Radioastronomía (CCT-La Plata, CONICET; CICPBA)
Leslie W. Looney: University of Illinois
Paola Caselli: Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Zhi-Yun Li: University of Virginia
Lee G. Mundy: University of Maryland
Woojin Kwon: Seoul National University (SNU)
Robert J. Harris: University of Illinois

Nature, 2020, vol. 586, issue 7828, 228-231

Abstract: Abstract Annular structures (rings and gaps) in disks around pre-main-sequence stars have been detected in abundance towards class II protostellar objects that are approximately 1,000,000 years old1. These structures are often interpreted as evidence of planet formation1–3, with planetary-mass bodies carving rings and gaps in the disk4. This implies that planet formation may already be underway in even younger disks in the class I phase, when the protostar is still embedded in a larger-scale dense envelope of gas and dust5. Only within the past decade have detailed properties of disks in the earliest star-forming phases been observed6,7. Here we report 1.3-millimetre dust emission observations with a resolution of five astronomical units that show four annular substructures in the disk of the young (less than 500,000 years old)8 protostar IRS 63. IRS 63 is a single class I source located in the nearby Ophiuchus molecular cloud at a distance of 144 parsecs9, and is one of the brightest class I protostars at millimetre wavelengths. IRS 63 also has a relatively large disk compared to other young disks (greater than 50 astronomical units)10. Multiple annular substructures observed towards disks at young ages can act as an early foothold for dust-grain growth, which is a prerequisite of planet formation. Whether or not planets already exist in the disk of IRS 63, it is clear that the planet-formation process begins in the initial protostellar phases, earlier than predicted by current planet-formation theories11.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2779-6

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