The formation of a massive protostar through the disk accretion of gas

Chini, R.; Hoffmeister, V. H.; Kimeswenger, S.; Nielbock, M.; Nürnberger, D. E. A.; Schmidtobreick, L.; Sterzik, M.

doi:10.1038/nature02507

Cited by 110 publications

(120 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Recent observational studies suggest that high-mass stars may form in essentially the same way as low-mass stars, namely via an accretion process 3 , instead of via merging of several low-mass (< 8M ⊙ ) stars 4 . However, there is as yet no conclusive evidence 5,6 . Here, we report the discovery of a flattened disk-like structure observed at submillimeter wavelengths, centered on a massive 15 M ⊙ protostar in the Cepheus-A region.…”

Section: -2 -mentioning

confidence: 98%

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

Patel

Curiel

Sridharan

et al. 2005

Nature

199

221

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The processes leading to the birth of low-mass stars such as our Sun have been well studied, but the formation of high-mass (> 8 x Sun's mass) stars has heretofore remained poorly understood. Recent observational studies suggest that high-mass stars may form in essentially the same way as low-mass stars, namely via an accretion process, instead of via merging of several low-mass (< 8 Msun) stars. However, there is as yet no conclusive evidence. Here, we report the discovery of a flattened disk-like structure observed at submillimeter wavelengths, centered on a massive 15 Msun protostar in the Cepheus-A region. The disk, with a radius of about 330 astronomical units (AU) and a mass of 1 to 8 Msun, is detected in dust continuum as well as in molecular line emission. Its perpendicular orientation to, and spatial coincidence with the central embedded powerful bipolar radio jet, provides the best evidence yet that massive stars form via disk accretion in direct analogy to the formation of low-mass stars

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Section: -2 -mentioning

confidence: 98%

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

Patel

Curiel

Sridharan

et al. 2005

Nature

199

221

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“…It is the brightest member of a group of very red, deeply embedded objects that are surrounded by extended nebulosity, as shown in Fig. 1 Nebula" in Taurus, (a circumstellar disk surrounding a T Tauri star, see Wolf et al 2003) or the "Silhouette Disk" around a young star in M 17 (Chini et al 2004), and is discussed in more detail in Sect. 4.…”

Section: Discovery Of the Disk Object In The Dark Cloud Near Cr 232mentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of a large massive circumstellar disk around a high-mass young stellar object in the Carina Nebula

Preibisch

Ratzka

Gehring

et al. 2011

A&A

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Context. The characterization of circumstellar disks around young stellar objects can provide important information about the process of star formation and the possible formation of planetary systems. Aims. We investigate the spatial structure and the spectral energy distribution of a newly discovered edge-on circumstellar disk around an optically invisible young stellar object that is embedded in a dark cloud in the Carina Nebula. Methods. The disk object was serendipitously discovered in our deep near-IR imaging survey of the Carina Nebula obtained with HAWK-I at the ESO VLT. Whereas the object was detected as an apparently point-like source in earlier infrared observations, only the superb image quality (FWHM ≈ 0.5 ) of the HAWK-I data could reveal, for the first time, the peculiar morphology of the object. It consists of a very red point-like central source that is surrounded by a roughly spherical nebula, which is intersected by a remarkable dark lane through the center. We construct the spectral energy distribution of the object from 1 μm to 870 μm and perform a detailed radiative transfer modeling of the spectral energy distribution and the source morphology. Results. The observed object morphology in the near-IR images clearly suggests a young stellar object that is embedded in an extended, roughly spherical envelope and surrounded by a large circumstellar disk with a diameter of ≈5500 AU that is seen nearly edge-on. The radiative transfer modeling shows that the central object is highly luminous and thus must be a massive young stellar object, most likely in the range 10−15 M . The circumstellar disk has a mass of about 2 M . Conclusions. The disk object in Carina is one of the most massive young stellar objects for which a circumstellar disk has been detected so far. The size and mass of the disk are very large compared to the corresponding values found for most other similar objects. These results support the assumption that 10−15 M stars can form via accretion from a circumstellar disk.

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“…Hence, spatially disentangling such structures is a difficult task. While several disk candidates exist around early B-stars (e.g., Cesaroni et al 1997Cesaroni et al , 2005Schreyer et al 2002;Shepherd et al 2001;Zhang et al 2002;Chini et al 2004;Kraus et al 2010;Keto & Zhang 2010;Fallscheer et al 2011), more massive O-star like systems rather show larger-scale toroid-like structures not consistent with classical Keplerian accretion disks (e.g., Beltrán et al 2004;Beltrán et al 2011;Beuther et al 2005;Beuther & Walsh 2008;Sollins et al 2005;Keto & Wood 2006;Cesaroni et al 2007;Fallscheer et al 2009). However, the nondetection of Keplerian structures around O-stars does not imply that they do not exist, it rather indicates that they are likely on smaller spatial scales hidden by the toroids.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The high-mass disk candidates NGC 7538IRS1 and NGC 7538S

Beuther

Linz

Henning

2012

A&A

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Context. The nature of embedded accretion disks around forming high-mass stars is one of the missing puzzle pieces for a general understanding of the formation of the most massive and luminous stars. Aims. We want to dissect the small-scale structure of the dust continuum and kinematic gas emission toward two of the most prominent high-mass disk candidates. Methods. Using the Plateau de Bure Interferometer at ∼1.36 mm wavelengths in its most extended configuration we probe the dust and gas emission at ∼0.3 , corresponding to linear resolution elements of ∼800 AU.Results. Even at that high spatial resolution NGC 7538IRS1 remains a single compact and massive gas core with extraordinarily high column densities, corresponding to visual extinctions on the order of 10 5 mag, and average densities within the central 2000 AU of ∼2.1 × 10 9 cm −3 that have not been measured before. We identify a velocity gradient across in northeast-southwest direction that is consistent with the mid-infrared emission, but we do not find a gradient that corresponds to the proposed CH 3 OH maser disk. The spectral line data toward NGC 7538IRS1 reveal strong blue-and red-shifted absorption toward the mm continuum peak position. While the blue-shifted absorption is consistent with an outflow along the line of sight, the red-shifted absorption allows us to estimate high infall rates on the order of 10 −2 M yr −1 . Although we cannot prove that the gas will be accreted in the end, the data are consistent with ongoing star formation activity in a scaled-up low-mass star formation scenario. Compared to that, NGC 7538S fragments in a hierarchical fashion into several sub-sources. While the kinematics of the main mm peak are dominated by the accompanying jet, we find rotational signatures from a secondary peak. Furthermore, strong spectral line differences exist between the sub-sources which is indicative of different evolutionary stages within the same large-scale gas clump. Conclusions. NGC 7538IRS1 is one of the most extreme high-mass disk candidates known today. The large concentration of mass into a small area combined with the high infall rates are unusual and likely allow continued accretion. While the absorption is interesting for the infall studies, higher-excited lines that do not suffer from the absorption are needed to better study the disk kinematics. In contrast to that, NGC 7538S appears as a more typical high-mass star formation region that fragments into several sources. Many of them will form low-to intermediate-mass stars. The strongest mm continuum peak is likely capable to form a high-mass star, however, likely of lower mass than NGC 7538IRS1.

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The formation of a massive protostar through the disk accretion of gas

Cited by 110 publications

References 19 publications

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

A disk of dust and molecular gas around a high-mass protostar

Detection of a large massive circumstellar disk around a high-mass young stellar object in the Carina Nebula

The high-mass disk candidates NGC 7538IRS1 and NGC 7538S

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