Seoul National University Department of Physics and Astronomy Professor Jeongeun Lee’s research team observed triplets’ fetal stars in the interstellar cloud observed with the Atacama Millimeter/Submillimeter Radio Interferometer (ALMA)./ALMA
A research team led by domestic researchers has revealed the formation process of ‘multiple stars’ that are born in cosmic dust. The result of this study is a combination of radio telescope observation and supercomputer simulation, and for the first time confirmed the process in which a fetal star is supplied with materials necessary for birth.
An international research team led by Professor Jeongeun Lee of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Seoul National University observed the multi-primitive stellar system ‘IRAS 04239+2436’ with the Atacama Millimeter/Submillimeter Radio Interferometer (ALMA) radio telescope in Chile. announced on the 4th that it had discovered that this exists.
Usually, stars are born with ‘multiplicity’, in which several are formed at the same time. To date, several scenarios have been proposed to explain the star formation process, but the multiplicity formation process has not been identified. Multiplicity formation is of great importance for a comprehensive understanding of star formation theory.
What is mainly reported in fetal star observations is the ‘streamer’, a gas structure that flows toward the fetal star. The streamer, which supplies substances to the embryonic star, serves as an umbilical cord that supplies nutrients to the embryo. It shows how the embryonic star inhales gas to grow, but how the streamer’s gas stream is formed remains unknown.
A triplets fetal star being formed in an interstellar cloud observed with the Atacama millimeter/submillimeter radio interferometer (ALMA) by Seoul National University Professor Jeongeun Lee’s research team./ALMA
The phenomenon observed by the research team is a spiral gas structure that appeared around three multi-double stars that appeared at a distance of 460 light years from Earth (about 9.46 trillion km, the distance that light travels in one year). This structure was discovered in the light emitted by sulfur monoxide molecules. The sulfur monoxide molecules spread to 400 AU (astronomical unit, 1 AU is the distance between the Earth and the sun) around the embryonic star.
The research team calculated the speed of sulfur monoxide gas using the Doppler effect. The Doppler effect refers to a phenomenon in which the measured electromagnetic wave wavelength changes when an object emitting electromagnetic waves moves closer or farther away from an observer. Analysis of gas motion confirmed that the three large structures of sulfur monoxide gas were streamers flowing through the embryonic star.
To improve the accuracy of the observations, the research team compared the velocity data of sulfur monoxide molecules with supercomputer fluid dynamics simulations. The simulation was performed using the National Astronomical Observatory (NAOJ) astronomical supercomputer with a team led by Professor Tomoaki Matsumoto of Hosei University in Japan.
The research team explained that stars are born in a ‘hybrid scenario’ by comparing observational data and simulations. It is a combination of the ‘turbulent eruption scenario’, in which interstellar clouds with turbulent flow erupt into several dense gas masses, and the ‘disk eruption scenario’, in which the surrounding gas forms like a spiral arm and sucks in matter. It is an analysis that multiple stars and streamers are formed only when a dynamic situation occurs in the universe.
Depending on the pattern of star formation, it is possible to estimate whether planets can be created around it. Professor Lee Jeong-eun said, “Planets can be formed in the gas and dust disks that form around protostars, and only when a calm environment lasts for a long time.” “It’s not going to be conducive to planet formation because it’s dense with stars.”
The results of this research were published in the international academic journal ‘The Astrophysical Journal’ on the 4th.
Reference
The Astrophysical Journal, DOI:
