The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star

Planets are a natural byproduct of the stellar formation process, resulting from local aggregations of material within the disks surrounding young stars. Whereas signatures of gas-giant planets at large orbital separations have been observed and successfully modeled within protoplanetary disks, the...

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Main Authors: Benjamin R. Setterholm, John D. Monnier, Fabien Baron, Jaehan Bae, Jacques Kluska, Stefan Kraus, Nuria Calvet, Noura Ibrahim, Evan Rich, Narsireddy Anugu, Claire L. Davies, Jacob Ennis, Tyler Gardner, Aaron Labdon, Cyprien Lanthermann, Gail Schaefer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adcd68
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author Benjamin R. Setterholm
John D. Monnier
Fabien Baron
Jaehan Bae
Jacques Kluska
Stefan Kraus
Nuria Calvet
Noura Ibrahim
Evan Rich
Narsireddy Anugu
Claire L. Davies
Jacob Ennis
Tyler Gardner
Aaron Labdon
Cyprien Lanthermann
Gail Schaefer
author_facet Benjamin R. Setterholm
John D. Monnier
Fabien Baron
Jaehan Bae
Jacques Kluska
Stefan Kraus
Nuria Calvet
Noura Ibrahim
Evan Rich
Narsireddy Anugu
Claire L. Davies
Jacob Ennis
Tyler Gardner
Aaron Labdon
Cyprien Lanthermann
Gail Schaefer
author_sort Benjamin R. Setterholm
collection DOAJ
description Planets are a natural byproduct of the stellar formation process, resulting from local aggregations of material within the disks surrounding young stars. Whereas signatures of gas-giant planets at large orbital separations have been observed and successfully modeled within protoplanetary disks, the formation pathways of planets within their host star’s future habitable zones remain poorly understood. Analyzing multiple nights of observations conducted over a short, 2 month span with the MIRC-X and PIONIER instruments at the CHARA Array and VLTI, respectively, we uncover a highly active environment at the inner-edge of the planet formation region in the disk of HD 163296. In particular, we localize and track the motion of a disk feature near the dust-sublimation radius with a pattern speed of less than half the local Keplerian velocity, providing a potential glimpse at the planet formation process in action within the inner astronomical unit. We emphasize that this result is at the edge of what is currently possible with available optical interferometric techniques and behooves confirmation with a temporally dense followup observing campaign.
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spelling doaj-art-c59c1244bc754609b49f89b2968c67a42025-08-20T01:52:11ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169631810.3847/1538-3881/adcd68The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming StarBenjamin R. Setterholm0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5980-0246John D. Monnier1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3380-3307Fabien Baron2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8376-8941Jaehan Bae3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7258-770XJacques Kluska4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9491-393XStefan Kraus5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6017-8773Nuria Calvet6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3950-5386Noura Ibrahim7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1788-9366Evan Rich8https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1779-8181Narsireddy Anugu9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2208-6541Claire L. Davies10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9764-2357Jacob Ennis11https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1575-4310Tyler Gardner12https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3003-3183Aaron Labdon13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8837-7045Cyprien Lanthermann14https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9745-5834Gail Schaefer15https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5415-9189Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; setterholm@mpia.de; Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie , Heidelberg, GermanyDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; setterholm@mpia.deDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Georgia State University , Atlanta, GA, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Florida , Gainesville, FL, USAInstitute of Astronomy , KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Schneider Electric , Grenoble, FranceDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter , Exeter, UKDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; setterholm@mpia.deDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; setterholm@mpia.deDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nebraska , Lincoln, NE, USAThe CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson, CA, USADepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter , Exeter, UKDepartment of Astronomy, University of Michigan , Ann Arbor, MI, USA ; setterholm@mpia.deDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter , Exeter, UKEuropean Southern Observatory , Santiago, ChileThe CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson, CA, USAThe CHARA Array of Georgia State University , Mount Wilson, CA, USAPlanets are a natural byproduct of the stellar formation process, resulting from local aggregations of material within the disks surrounding young stars. Whereas signatures of gas-giant planets at large orbital separations have been observed and successfully modeled within protoplanetary disks, the formation pathways of planets within their host star’s future habitable zones remain poorly understood. Analyzing multiple nights of observations conducted over a short, 2 month span with the MIRC-X and PIONIER instruments at the CHARA Array and VLTI, respectively, we uncover a highly active environment at the inner-edge of the planet formation region in the disk of HD 163296. In particular, we localize and track the motion of a disk feature near the dust-sublimation radius with a pattern speed of less than half the local Keplerian velocity, providing a potential glimpse at the planet formation process in action within the inner astronomical unit. We emphasize that this result is at the edge of what is currently possible with available optical interferometric techniques and behooves confirmation with a temporally dense followup observing campaign.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adcd68Protoplanetary disksHerbig Ae/Be starsPlanet formationOptical interferometry
spellingShingle Benjamin R. Setterholm
John D. Monnier
Fabien Baron
Jaehan Bae
Jacques Kluska
Stefan Kraus
Nuria Calvet
Noura Ibrahim
Evan Rich
Narsireddy Anugu
Claire L. Davies
Jacob Ennis
Tyler Gardner
Aaron Labdon
Cyprien Lanthermann
Gail Schaefer
The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
The Astronomical Journal
Protoplanetary disks
Herbig Ae/Be stars
Planet formation
Optical interferometry
title The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
title_full The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
title_fullStr The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
title_full_unstemmed The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
title_short The Dynamic Inner Disk of a Planet-forming Star
title_sort dynamic inner disk of a planet forming star
topic Protoplanetary disks
Herbig Ae/Be stars
Planet formation
Optical interferometry
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adcd68
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