Kennedy, GM, Matrà, L, Facchini, S et al. (6 more authors) (2019) A circumbinary protoplanetary disk in a polar configuration. Nature Astronomy, 3 (3). pp. 230-235. ISSN 2397-3366
Abstract
Nearly all young stars are initially surrounded by ‘protoplanetary’ disks of gas and dust, and in the case of single stars at least 30% of these disks go on to form planets1. The process of protoplanetary disk formation can result in initial misalignments, where the disk orbital plane is different from the stellar equator in single-star systems, or different from the binary orbital plane in systems with two stars2. A quirk of the dynamics means that initially misaligned ‘circumbinary’ disks—those that surround two stars—are predicted to evolve to one of two possible stable configurations: one where the disk and binary orbital planes are coplanar and one where they are perpendicular (a ‘polar’ configuration)3,4,5. Previous work has found coplanar circumbinary disks6, but no polar examples were known until now. Here, we report the first discovery of a protoplanetary circumbinary disk in the polar configuration, supporting the predictions that such disks should exist. The disk shows some characteristics that are similar to disks around single stars, and that are attributed to dust growth. Thus, the first stages of planet formation appear able to proceed in polar circumbinary disks.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2019. This is an author produced version of an article published in Nature Astronomy . Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Dates: |
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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) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 11 Dec 2019 12:39 |
Last Modified: | 13 Dec 2019 02:42 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Nature Research |
Identification Number: | 10.1038/s41550-018-0667-x |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:154449 |
Commentary/Response Threads
- Kennedy, GM, Matrà, L, Facchini, S, Milli, J, Panić, O, Price, D, Wilner, DJ, Wyatt, MC and Yelverton, BM A circumbinary protoplanetary disk in a polar configuration. (deposited 11 Dec 2019 12:39) [Currently Displayed]