scholarly journals Why do protoplanetary disks appear not massive enough to form the known exoplanet population?

2018 ◽  
Vol 618 ◽  
pp. L3 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. F. Manara ◽  
A. Morbidelli ◽  
T. Guillot

When and how planets form in protoplanetary disks is still a topic of discussion. Exoplanet detection surveys and protoplanetary disk surveys are now providing results that are leading to new insights. We collect the masses of confirmed exoplanets and compare their dependence on stellar mass with the same dependence for protoplanetary disk masses measured in ∼1–3 Myr old star-forming regions. We recalculated the disk masses using the new estimates of their distances derived from Gaia DR2 parallaxes. We note that single and multiple exoplanetary systems form two different populations, probably pointing to a different formation mechanism for massive giant planets around very low-mass stars. While expecting that the mass in exoplanetary systems is much lower than the measured disk masses, we instead find that exoplanetary systems masses are comparable or higher than the most massive disks. This same result is found by converting the measured planet masses into heavy element content (core masses for the giant planets and full masses for the super-Earth systems) and by comparing this value with the disk dust masses. Unless disk dust masses are heavily underestimated, this is a big conundrum. An extremely efficient recycling of dust particles in the disk cannot solve this conundrum. This implies that either the cores of planets have formed very rapidly (<0.1–1 Myr) and a large amount of gas is expelled on the same timescales from the disk, or that disks are continuously replenished by fresh planet-forming material from the environment. These hypotheses can be tested by measuring disk masses in even younger targets and by better understanding if and how the disks are replenished by their surroundings.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (S299) ◽  
pp. 230-231
Author(s):  
Alycia J. Weinberger ◽  
Alan P. Boss ◽  
Guillem Anglada-Escudé

AbstractWe present preliminary astrometric results aimed at understanding the lifetime of circumstellar disks and potential for planet formation. We have obtained parallaxes to stars in the TW Hydrae, Upper Scorpius, and Chamaeleon I stellar associations. These enable new estimates for the ages of the stars. We are also performing the Carnegie Astrometric Planet Search of nearby low mass stars for gas giant planets on wide orbits. We have our first candidate around a mature brown dwarf.



2020 ◽  
Vol 635 ◽  
pp. A105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Pinilla ◽  
Ilaria Pascucci ◽  
Sebastian Marino

Context. Demographic surveys of protoplanetary disks, carried out mainly with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimete Array, have provided access to a large range of disk dust masses (Mdust) around stars with different stellar types and in different star-forming regions. These surveys found a power-law relation between Mdust and M⋆ that steepens in time, but which is also flatter for transition disks (TDs). Aims. We aim to study the effect of dust evolution in the Mdust−M⋆ relation. In particular, we are interested in investigating the effect of particle traps on this relation. Methods. We performed dust evolution models, which included perturbations to the gas surface density with different amplitudes to investigate the effect of particle trapping on the Mdust−M⋆ relation. These perturbations were aimed at mimicking pressure bumps that originated from planets. We focused on the effect caused by different stellar and disk masses based on exoplanet statistics that demonstrate a dependence of planet mass on stellar mass and metallicity. Results. Models of dust evolution can reproduce the observed Mdust−M⋆ relation in different star-forming regions when strong pressure bumps are included and when the disk mass scales with stellar mass (case of Mdisk = 0.05 M⋆ in our models). This result arises from dust trapping and dust growth beyond centimeter-sized grains inside pressure bumps. However, the flatter relation of Mdust − M⋆ for TDs and disks with substructures cannot be reproduced by the models unless the formation of boulders is inhibited inside pressure bumps. Conclusions. In the context of pressure bumps originating from planets, our results agree with current exoplanet statistics on giant planet occurrence increasing with stellar mass, but we cannot draw a conclusion about the type of planets needed in the case of low-mass stars. This is attributed to the fact that for M⋆ < 1 M⊙, the observed Mdust obtained from models is very low due to the efficient growth of dust particles beyond centimeter-sizes inside pressure bumps.



2002 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 143-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee G. Mundy ◽  
Friedrich Wyrowski ◽  
Sarah Watt

Millimeter and submillimeter wavelength images of massive star-forming regions are uncovering the natal material distribution and revealing the complexities of their circumstellar environments on size scales from parsecs to 100’s of AU. Progress in these areas has been slower than for low-mass stars because massive stars are more distant, and because they are gregarious siblings with different evolutionary stages that can co-exist even within a core. Nevertheless, observational goals for the near future include the characterization of an early evolutionary sequence for massive stars, determination if the accretion process and formation sequence for massive stars is similar to that of low-mass stars, and understanding of the role of triggering events in massive star formation.



2020 ◽  
Vol 645 ◽  
pp. A29
Author(s):  
Ü. Kavak ◽  
Á. Sánchez-Monge ◽  
A. López-Sepulcre ◽  
R. Cesaroni ◽  
F. F. S. van der Tak ◽  
...  

Context. Recent theoretical and observational studies debate the similarities of the formation process of high- (>8 M⊙) and low-mass stars. The formation of low-mass stars is directly associated with the presence of disks and jets. Theoretical models predict that stars with masses up to 140 M⊙ can be formed through disk-mediated accretion in disk-jet systems. According to this scenario, radio jets are expected to be common in high-mass star-forming regions. Aims. We aim to increase the number of known radio jets in high-mass star-forming regions by searching for radio-jet candidates at radio continuum wavelengths. Methods. We used the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) to observe 18 high-mass star-forming regions in the C band (6 cm, ≈1′′.0 resolution) and K band (1.3 cm, ≈0′′.3 resolution). We searched for radio-jet candidates by studying the association of radio continuum sources with shock activity signs (e.g., molecular outflows, extended green objects, and maser emission). Our VLA observations also targeted the 22 GHz H2O and 6.7 GHz CH3OH maser lines. Results. We have identified 146 radio continuum sources, 40 of which are located within the field of view of both images (C and K band maps). We derived the spectral index, which is consistent with thermal emission (between − 0.1 and + 2.0) for 73% of these sources. Based on the association with shock-activity signs, we identified 28 radio-jet candidates. Out of these, we identified 7 as the most probable radio jets. The radio luminosity of the radio-jet candidates is correlated with the bolometric luminosity and the outflow momentum rate. About 7–36% of the radio-jet candidates are associated with nonthermal emission. The radio-jet candidates associated with 6.7 GHz CH3OH maser emission are preferentially thermal winds and jets, while a considerable fraction of radio-jet candidates associated with H2O masers show nonthermal emission that is likely due to strong shocks. Conclusions. About 60% of the radio continuum sources detected within the field of view of our VLA images are potential radio jets. The remaining sources could be compact H II regions in their early stages of development, or radio jets for which we currently lack further evidence of shock activity. Our sample of 18 regions is divided into 8 less evolved infrared-dark regions and 10 more evolved infrared-bright regions. We found that ≈71% of the identified radio-jet candidates are located in the more evolved regions. Similarly, 25% of the less evolved regions harbor one of the most probable radio jets, while up to 50% of the more evolved regions contain one of these radio-jet candidates. This suggests that the detection of radio jets in high-mass star-forming regions is more likely in slightly more evolved regions.



2003 ◽  
Vol 211 ◽  
pp. 133-136
Author(s):  
Michael C. Liu

We present some results from a systematic survey for disks around spectroscopically identified young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars. We find that ≈75% of our sample show intrinsic IR excesses, indicative of circum(sub)stellar disks. The observed excesses are well-correlated with Hα emission, consistent with a common disk accretion origin. Because the excesses are modest, conventional analyses using only IR colors would have missed most of the sources with disks. In the same star-forming regions, we find that disks around brown dwarfs and T Tauri stars are contemporaneous; assuming coevality, this demonstrates that substellar disks are at least as long-lived as stellar disks. Altogether, the frequency and properties of circumstellar disks are similar from the stellar regime down to the substellar and planetary-mass regime. This offers compelling evidence of a common origin for most stars and brown dwarfs.



2020 ◽  
Vol 496 (1) ◽  
pp. L111-L115
Author(s):  
Gavin A L Coleman ◽  
Thomas J Haworth

ABSTRACT Peter Pan discs are a recently discovered class of long-lived discs around low-mass stars that survive for an order of magnitude longer than typical discs. In this paper, we use disc evolutionary models to determine the required balance between initial conditions and the magnitude of dispersal processes for Peter Pan discs to be primordial. We find that we require low transport (α ∼ 10−4), extremely low external photoevaporation (${\le}10^{-9}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }\, {\rm yr^{-1}}$), and relatively high disc masses (&gt;0.25M*) to produce discs with ages and accretion rates consistent with Peter Pan discs. Higher transport (α = 10−3) results in disc lifetimes that are too short and even lower transport (α = 10−5) leads to accretion rates smaller than those observed. The required external photoevaporation rates are so low that primordial Peter Pan discs will have formed in rare environments on the periphery of low-mass star-forming regions, or deeply embedded, and as such have never subsequently been exposed to higher amounts of UV radiation. Given that such an external photoevaporation scenario is rare, the required disc parameters and accretion properties may reflect the initial conditions and accretion rates of a much larger fraction of the discs around low-mass stars.



2020 ◽  
Vol 642 ◽  
pp. A171
Author(s):  
Á. Ribas ◽  
C. C. Espaillat ◽  
E. Macías ◽  
L. M. Sarro

We model the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of 23 protoplanetary disks in the Taurus-Auriga star-forming region using detailed disk models and a Bayesian approach. This is made possible by combining these models with artificial neural networks to drastically speed up their performance. Such a setup allows us to confront α-disk models with observations while accounting for several uncertainties and degeneracies. Our results yield high viscosities and accretion rates for many sources, which is not consistent with recent measurements of low turbulence levels in disks. This inconsistency could imply that viscosity is not the main mechanism for angular momentum transport in disks, and that alternatives such as disk winds play an important role in this process. We also find that our SED-derived disk masses are systematically higher than those obtained solely from (sub)mm fluxes, suggesting that part of the disk emission could still be optically thick at (sub)mm wavelengths. This effect is particularly relevant for disk population studies and alleviates previous observational tensions between the masses of protoplanetary disks and exoplanetary systems.



2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (S240) ◽  
pp. 114-116
Author(s):  
Rainer Köhler ◽  
Monika G. Petr-Gotzens ◽  
Mark J. McCaughrean ◽  
Jerome Bouvier ◽  
Gaspard Duchêne ◽  
...  

AbstractWe report on a high-spatial-resolution survey for binary stars in the periphery of the Orion Nebula Cluster, at 5–15 arcmin (0.65 – 2 pc) from the cluster center. We observed 228 stars with adaptive optics systems, in order to find companions at separations of 0.13 – 1.12 arcsec (60 – 500 AU), and detected 13 new binaries. Combined with the results of Petr (1998), we have a sample of 275 objects, about half of which have masses from the literature and high probabilities to be cluster members. We used an improved method to derive the completeness limits of the observations, which takes into account the elongated point spread function of stars at relatively large distances from the adaptive optics guide star. The multiplicity of stars with masses >2 M⊙ is found to be significantly larger than that of low-mass stars. The companion star frequency of low-mass stars is comparable to that of main-sequence M-dwarfs, less than half that of solar-type main-sequence stars, and 3.5 to 5 times lower than in the Taurus-Auriga and Scorpius-Centaurus star-forming regions. We find the binary frequency of low-mass stars in the periphery of the cluster to be the same or only slightly higher than for stars in the cluster core (< 3′ from θ1C Ori). This is in contrast to the prediction of the theory that the low binary frequency in the cluster is caused by the disruption of binaries due to dynamical interactions. There are two ways out of this dilemma: Either the initial binary frequency in the Orion Nebula Cluster was lower than in Taurus-Auriga, or the Orion Nebula Cluster was originally much denser and dynamically more active. A detailed report of this work has been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics (Köhler et al. 2006).





2018 ◽  
Vol 609 ◽  
pp. A70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rugel ◽  
Davide Fedele ◽  
Gregory Herczeg

The nearby η Chamaeleontis association is a collection of 4–10 Myr old stars with a disk fraction of 35–45%. In this study, the broad wavelength coverage of VLT/X-shooter is used to measure the stellar and mass accretion properties of 15 low-mass stars in the η Chamaeleontis association. For each star, the observed spectrum is fitted with a non-accreting stellar template and an accretion spectrum obtained from assuming a plane-parallel hydrogen slab. Five of the eight stars with an IR disk excess show excess UV emission, indicating ongoing accretion. The accretion rates measured here are similar to those obtained from previous measurements of excess UV emission, but tend to be higher than past measurements from Hα modeling. The mass accretion rates are consistent with those of other young star forming regions.



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