Caratti o Garatti, A, Stecklum, B, Garcia Lopez, R et al. (13 more authors) (2017) Disk-mediated accretion burst in a high-mass young stellar object. Nature Physics, 13 (3). pp. 276-279. ISSN 1745-2473
Abstract
Solar-mass stars form via disk-mediated accretion. Recent findings indicate that this process is probably episodic in the form of accretion bursts1, possibly caused by disk fragmentation2, 3, 4. Although it cannot be ruled out that high-mass young stellar objects arise from the coalescence of their low-mass brethren5, the latest results suggest that they more likely form via disks6, 7, 8, 9. It follows that disk-mediated accretion bursts should occur10, 11. Here we report on the discovery of the first disk-mediated accretion burst from a roughly twenty-solar-mass high-mass young stellar object12. Our near-infrared images show the brightening of the central source and its outflow cavities. Near-infrared spectroscopy reveals emission lines typical for accretion bursts in low-mass protostars, but orders of magnitude more luminous. Moreover, the released energy and the inferred mass-accretion rate are also orders of magnitude larger. Our results identify disk-accretion as the common mechanism of star formation across the entire stellar mass spectrum.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
---|---|
Authors/Creators: |
|
Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. This is an author produced version of a paper published in Nature Physics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
|
Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Physics and Astronomy (Leeds) > Astrophysics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number STFC (Science and Technology Facilities Council) ST/L000628/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 25 Nov 2016 11:14 |
Last Modified: | 02 Feb 2021 14:21 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1038/nphys3942 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Publishing Group |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/nphys3942 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:108418 |