I am an active researcher in star and planet formation. I study the evolution of stars, focusing on their early formation stages, with a particular interest in the feedback of massive stars within stellar clusters and its connection to Solar System studies. My research examines the gas and dust composition in protoplanetary disks to explore these links. My main scientific motivation for studying young stars is to understand how our Solar System formed.
Multi-wavelength observations of Sz91 transition disk. ALMA observations at 0.9 mm from Tsukagoshi et al. (2019). NACO observations at 2.2 microns from Maucó et al. (2020). This system represents a clear example of dust filtration: small grains are found inside the sub-mm cavity.
INTERESTING ARTICLE
a) Kinematics (peak velocity and line width) of the [OI]λ6300A line showing how the close-in disks (blueshaded-region) all exhibit a single component profile. b) [NII]λ6583/[SII]λ6731 line ratio for σ-Orionis sources. Top inset: The lines in the 177-341W proplyd as seen in MUSE (modified from Aru et al. 2024a).
A new look at disk winds and external photoevaporation in the σ-Orionis cluster
Context. Disk winds play a crucial role in the evolution of protoplanetary disks. Typical conditions for star and planet formation are in regions with intermediate or strong UV radiation fields produced by massive stars. In these environments, internally or externally driven winds can occur. The σ-Orionis cluster is the ideal site to study disk winds under these conditions; its outer parts, exposed only to mild UV fields, can be used to study disk evolution, while its innermost regions can be used to study the effect of external irradiation.
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Methods. We analyzed the [OI] λ6300, [NII] λ6583, and [SII] λ6731,λ6716 lines using high-resolution MIKE spectra for a sample of 27 classical T Tauri stars and complemented by intermediate-resolution X-shooter data. We decomposed the line profiles into multiple Gaussian components. We calculated luminosities, line ratios, and kinematic properties of these components.
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Results. We find that the [OI] λ6300 line luminosity and kinematic properties for our σ-Orionis sample are similar to those found in low-mass star-forming regions. The frequency of single-component [OI] λ6300 line profiles reflects the expected evolutionary stage given the intermediate age of σ-Orionis (~3–5 Myr). This points to internal processes contributing to the line emission. However, the highly irradiated disks in the cluster do not follow the accretion luminosity-[OI] λ6300line luminosity relation found in low-mass star-forming regions, and all exhibit single-component line profiles. Line ratios of highly ionized species of [NII] and [SII] show higher ratios than typical values found in sources in low-mass star-forming regions. These are interpreted as signatures of external photoevaporation.
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Conclusions. We show the potential of using multiple forbidden emission lines to study both internally and externally driven disk winds. In the case of σ-Orionis, the innermost regions are clearly affected by external irradiation, as evidenced by the lack of correlation in the accretion-[OI] luminosity relation. The broad line widths of close-in sources, however, indicate a possible contribution from internal processes, such as magnetohydrodynamical winds and/or internal photoevaporation. This suggests a coevolution of internal and external winds in the σ-Orionis disks, while pointing toward a new way to disentangle these processes.