Star Formation Newsletter #405

Lillian Yushu Jiang, Brendan P. Bowler, Yifan Zhou, Adam L. Kraus, Sean M. Andrews, et al.

Accretion governs the growth of young stars and the early evolution of their circumstellar disks, yet population-level measurements of accretion are often hampered by heterogeneous diagnostics and by samples preferentially selected toward disk-bearing or accreting objects. This can impact the mass accretion rate-stellar mass ($\dot{M}$-$M_\star$) relation, particularly at substellar masses. We present a uniform analysis of accretion in the $\sim$2 Myr-old star-forming cluster IC 348 based on deep Hubble Space Telescope F656N imaging. Using H$α$ excess as a single, homogeneous accretion tracer, we derive accretion rates and robust upper limits for 200 cluster members spanning the stellar to substellar mass regime ($3\ M_\odot$ to $4\ M_{\rm Jup}$). Accretion is detected in $37\pm3\%$ of the sample, with fractions of $34\pm4\%$ among stellar members and $46\pm6\%$ among substellar objects. For accretors alone, the inferred $\dot{M}$-$M_\star$ relation is consistent with those measured in similarly aged regions such as Lupus. In contrast, including weak accretors and non-detections increases the scatter and flattens the slope while lowering the intercept, demonstrating the strong influence of the low-accretion tail on population-level accretion relations. For free-floating planetary-mass objects in IC 348, extrapolating the accretors-only fit overpredicts $\dot{M}$ by approximately an order of magnitude compared to the fit that includes upper limits, which instead implies mass accretion rates of $<10^{-12}$ $M_{\odot}\ \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$. These results show that sample selection, specifically whether the sample is restricted to disk-bearing or accreting targets, or instead is drawn from a complete membership census, is a dominant factor shaping population-level accretion relations across a wide dynamic range in stellar mass.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

K. L. Luhman, C. Alves de Oliveira, J. K. Faherty, B. C. Smith

In recent studies, we have used low-resolution spectroscopy (R~100) with the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) to uncover low-mass brown dwarfs (2-10 MJup) in the young cluster IC 348 that exhibit the so-called 3.4um absorption band from aliphatic hydrocarbons. Atmospheric models have not predicted the presence of that band in brown dwarfs at any age. Instead, methane absorption was expected in the coolest newborn brown dwarfs, but it was not detected. We have performed JWST spectroscopy at higher resolution (R~1000) on one of the brown dwarfs in IC 348, LRL 11001 (~6 MJup). The new measurement of the 3.4um band is fit well with four Gaussians that represent the CH stretching modes of CH2 and CH3 groups, indicating that the carrier is a large alkane (CnH2n+2). In addition, the spectrum contains emission lines at 3.324 and 3.333um, which we attribute to Q branches of CH4 hot bands between the octad and dyad regions (primarily nu3+nu4->nu4) and the tetradecad and pentad regions. This is the first detection of 3.33um CH4 emission from a young brown dwarf. The emission probably arises from the photosphere rather than a circumstellar disk given that no disks around stars or brown dwarfs are known to exhibit emission in these transitions. Modeling of the emission is needed to constrain the excitation mechanism, which could be either thermal (e.g., an accretion shock) or pumping by external radiation (e.g., neighboring cluster members). We speculate that vertical mixing has suppressed CH4 and enhanced large alkanes in the photosphere, but CH4 survives in the upper atmosphere, where it is available to experience the observed emission.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 25 September 2026

Gregory Mathews Ben, Jessy Jose, Jesús Hernández

We present the mid-infrared variability study of 120 long-lived disk candidates (ages 10-100 Myr) and 13 confirmed "Peter Pan" disks using NEOWISE to constrain the longevity of dynamic disk processes beyond the standard 10 Myr dispersal threshold. We identified 32 sources exhibiting significant variability by combining stochastic flux metrics and the Stetson $J$ index. The majority of these variables belong to the 10-25 Myr age range, suggesting a sharp decline in disk brightness variability after 25 Myr. Morphologically, the variability is characterized by irregular fluctuations with mean amplitudes of $ΔW2 \approx 0.5$ mag, consistent with variable extinction or inner disk warping induced by embedded planetesimals. We also report a strong correspondence between mid-infrared and optical variability for the Peter Pan disks, with all 9 mid-IR variables confirmed as optical variables in the literature. Our findings reveal a population of 23 new long-lived disk candidates that retain active, gas-rich environments, supporting the existence of a rarefied class of systems that survive well into the debris disk era.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 12 September 2026

Roke Cepeda-Arroita, Clive Dickinson, J. Alberto Rubiño-Martín, Ricardo T. Génova-Santos, Gabriel A. Hoerning, et al.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous in the interstellar medium and are among its smallest carbonaceous grains. Their infrared emission bands trace this small-grain population together with the interstellar radiation field that excites it, and are widely used to diagnose photodissociation regions, dust processing and star formation. We present full-sky maps of the integrated radiance of the 3.3 $μ$m aromatic C-H stretch and the adjacent 3.4-3.5 $μ$m aliphatic complex, from SPHEREx QR2 Level-2 data. Existing all-sky PAH tracers are broadband, so the band emission can only be inferred as an excess over stellar and continuum emission; SPHEREx samples the spectrum finely enough for the bands to be fitted directly. We mask flagged detector pixels, subtract the per-pixel zodiacal-light model, subtract point sources with an empirically derived PSF, and coadd the results into inverse-variance-weighted HEALPix maps at 2.6' FWHM and Nside=4096 in 102 narrowband channels across Detector 4 (2.42-3.82 $μ$m). At every sky pixel we fit a continuum and the two bands. The combined band radiance is the primary product; its decomposition into the aromatic and aliphatic components is released alongside it as an estimate, with its modelling systematic stated. These are the first full-sky maps of PAH band emission, resolving the 3.3 and 3.4-3.5 $μ$m bands spectrally, and the first full-sky PAH maps from SPHEREx to be released. Because the 3.3 $μ$m band is emitted preferentially by the smallest PAHs, the maps trace directly a grain population, including the candidate carriers of anomalous microwave emission, that broadband PAH proxies reach only indirectly. The maps and their associated products, including a reliability mask, are publicly available with an explanatory supplement at https://research.iac.es/proyecto/radioforegroundsplus/pages/data-products/spherex-pahs.php.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

Yu. N. Eroshenko

Recently, a population of free-floating planets has been discovered in the Galaxy. This paper examines the influence of the planets trapped within a protostellar hydrogen clouds on the processes of gravitational instability in the gas. A sufficiently massive planet can become an alternative dynamic center for the contracting cloud. This occurs due to rapid mass growth from accretion onto the planet within the cloud. Owing to residual velocity and density gradients in the cloud, the planet that triggers star formation is likely to end up in a distant orbit around the newborn star. Some second- and subsequent-generation stars in the Galaxy may have formed via this mechanism.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 23 September 2026

G. Cugno, M. Benisty, R. Teague, A. Boccaletti, L. Pueyo, et al.

Kinematic perturbations observed with ALMA in CO line emission provide evidence for a population of embedded giant protoplanets shaping the structure of protoplanetary disks. We present JWST/MIRI F1140C ($λ= 11.3~μ$m) coronagraphic observations of five protoplanetary disks, HD163296, RXJ1615.3-3255, RXJ1842.9-3532, SY Cha, and LkCa 15, with the goal of directly detecting candidate protoplanets orbiting at $\gtrsim$ 70 au previously inferred from gas kinematics. The data were analyzed using a bespoke methodology that combines reference PSF subtraction with forward modeling of partially resolved inner disk emission, which otherwise dominates the diffraction pattern in the images. This approach improves the sensitivity to young companions at small separations. No point source consistent with an embedded protoplanet is detected in any of the systems. Instead, in three systems we detect extended emission at $11.3~μ$m tracing the outer disk out to radii comparable to those probed by CO. Injection tests indicate upper mass limits of roughly $3-20$ M$_J$ at separations of a few hundred au, assuming no additional thermal contribution from circumplanetary environment. Even with space-based observations, these limits remain mostly above the $\sim1-5$ M$_J$ masses inferred from disk kinematics, largely due to the limitations imposed by emission (and/or scattered light) contributions from both the inner and outer disk. These observations highlight the challenges of observing protoplanets embedded in their forming environment at large separation with JWST/MIRI. Lessons learned can inform future studies with the Extremely Large Telescope, which will probe separations where the occurrence rate of gas giants is expected to be higher.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 11 September 2026

Till Kaeufer, Sebastiaan Krijt, Edwin A. Bergin, Andrea Banzatti, Joe Williams

Protoplanetary discs' infrared water spectra (e.g. as observed by JWST) encode information about the underlying water distribution and physical conditions. In this work, we examine and quantify the imprint of various dynamical processes (operating alone or in unison) on water abundances and emerging spectra using a new 2D model called Molecular emission Affected by Gas, Pebble, and Ice Evolution (MAGPIE). This model combines diffusion and advection for water (and associated species) and dust grains with aerodynamically decoupled pebbles, and photodissociation and a gas-phase water formation prescription. In general, we find that transport processes have a major impact on the inner disc's water content and can (re)plenish the layer above the ice reservoir which in static models is water-poor due to photodissociation. In particular, adding diffusion to a chemical model can result in strong changes in the spectrum (e.g. a flux increases of colder compared to warmer water lines) that recent work has associated with pebble drift. Adding pebble drift dramatically increases the inner disc water abundance but, surprisingly, does not readily lead to a further increase of cold water tracers as (1) efficient outward transport of water vapour is inhibited by a conveyor belt effect of incoming pebbles, and (2) the increase in hot water line fluxes overshadows smaller increases of colder lines. We conclude that dynamical processes have a significant but complex impact on water spectra. Future work should explore a range in stellar (e.g. UV irradiation) and disc properties to comprehensively understand the observed diversity of water emission.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Michael Connelley, Christian Flores, Bo Reipurth

We report on the evolution of extinction, mass accretion rate, and spectral index from analysis of SpeX observations and AllWISE spectral energy distributions, compared to stellar parameters (mass, age, and veiling) derived from analysis of previously reported and newly analyzed iSHELL observations of the same young stellar objects (YSOs). By using stellar gravity as an age indicator, we are able to infer age without any assumptions about the circumstellar environment. Our sample consists of 109 Class I, II, and III YSOs. The spectral index broadly decreases with time but with sufficient scatter that Class I-III YSOs can all be found at the same age. There is a wide range of extinction (A_V) from nearly 0 to greater than 30 mag for ages up to 5 Myr, showing no clear trend with age. The mass accretion rate declines from a median of 10^-8 solar masses per year at ~1 Myr to less than 10^-10 solar masses per year at ages greater than 10 Myr, with a scatter of the mass accretion rate of +/- 1 dex. Accretion seems to effectively end by ~ 5 Myr, by which time the median mass gained is 0.05 solar masses. We find a wide range of veiling (rK) from zero to three (limited by our need to detect photospheric lines) for Class I and II YSOs, with the median veiling declining after ~2 Myr. Class I YSOs appear to be physically very similar to Class II YSOs, with similar accretion rates and overlapping age and mass distributions. There are no objects with a high spectral index and low extinction, suggesting that once starved of circumstellar material, the spectral index rapidly declines.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Anibal Sierra, Andrés F. Izquierdo, Paola Pinilla, Kan Chen, Myriam Benisty, et al.

Hints of planet formation have been independently reported within the gap of the disc around 2MASS J16120668-301027 from millimetre continuum, infrared, and H-alpha observations. In this work, we present new evidence for ongoing planet formation based on Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band 7 observations, detecting 0.87 mm dust continuum emission together with 12CO (J=3-2) and 13CO (J=3-2) line emission. Visibility modelling of the continuum data reveals an inner disc and two dust rings peaking at 23 and 75 au. The continuum morphology is better reproduced by an eccentric disc model (e approximately 0.1) than by an axisymmetric disc. We further investigate the gas kinematics through modelling of the 12CO channel maps. The residual line-width map shows a localised increase in velocity dispersion at the position of a previously reported circumplanetary disc candidate (deprojected radius approximately 32 au, position angle approximately 170 degrees) and along its orbit. This signal is spatially coincident with kink-like features and a transition from sub-Keplerian to super-Keplerian velocities. In addition, the velocity residual map exhibits an arc-like structure extending outward from the planet candidate, while the gas kinematics, despite substantial uncertainties, is consistent with inflow towards the candidate's orbital radius. The observed increase in velocity dispersion agrees with predictions from planet-disc interaction simulations, which produce enhanced turbulence both at the planet location and along its orbital path. Taken together, the continuum morphology and gas kinematic signatures provide compelling new evidence for ongoing planet formation within the disc gap.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

R. Arun, G. Maheswar, Annapurni Subramaniam, Piyali Saha, T. P. Sudheesh, et al.

We introduce ROCKETS (Rocket-driven Cluster Kinematics & Triggered Star-formation), a Gaia based programme investigating kinematic fingerprints of stellar feedback or rocket effect in young star forming regions. We analyse two young clusters with O-type stars enclosed by mid-infrared bubbles, Collinder 69 and IC 1396 as a methodological demonstration on two nearby benchmark regions. Co-moving candidates are selected within an astrometric ellipse defined by the median and median absolute deviation of Class I/II YSOs with Gaia data. For each star, we compute a relative proper-motion angle (RPMA) relative to the ionising source. In both regions the RPMA distribution shows a strong excess at RPMA $<15^{\circ}$, corresponding to sources moving away from the respective ionising sources. We quantify this using the Rocket Effect Index (REI), finding $\mathrm{REI}\simeq 1.1$ for Collinder 69 and $\mathrm{REI}\simeq 1.7$ for IC 1396. When considering only Class I/II YSOs, the REI of both regions increases to $\mathrm{REI}\gtrsim 10$. Velocity-structure analysis of the sample shows that the RPMA $<15^\circ$ subset has stronger positive pairwise expansion than the full co-moving population, providing additional support for the rocket effect. The outward-moving stars are not uniformly distributed; instead, their position angles are strongly anisotropic and preferentially aligned towards the bright-rimmed clouds. Gaia colour-magnitude diagrams show no strong age offset between sources moving outward and literature cluster members. The observed kinematic signatures support feedback-driven acceleration of gas and triggered star formation preferentially towards higher density regions of expanding bubbles due to the rocket effect.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

Linghong Lin, Beibei Liu

Context. Convergent migration in a gaseous protoplanetary disk can capture a planet pair into mean-motion resonance. Eccentricity damping can subsequently make the resonant libration overstable and drive the pair out of resonance. Most studies of this process, however, assume a static disk. Aims. We examine how the decay of disk torques during dispersal changes this outcome and whether it can freeze an overstable libration before the pair escapes. Methods. We describe disk dispersal by allowing the migration and eccentricity-damping timescales to increase exponentially on a local timescale $τ_{\rm d}$. Integrating the time-dependent growth rate predicts $τ_{\rm d,crit}\proptoτ_{e,0}$. We test this scaling with direct $N$-body integrations and relate $τ_{\rm d}$ to the time taken by a photoevaporative cavity edge to cross the local torque-producing region. Results. The simulations recover a linear boundary, $τ_{\rm d,crit}\simeq Sτ_{e,0}$, with $S\simeq3$ over the explored parameter range. In a fiducial minimum-mass solar nebula, faster propagation of the cavity edge shortens the local dispersal time. The ratio $τ_{\rm d}/τ_{\rm d,crit}$ also decreases with orbital radius, so both effects favour resonant survival. Conclusions. When local disk dispersal is sufficiently rapid, the libration amplitude can freeze and the planet pair can remain in resonance instead of escaping through overstability. Late disk evolution can therefore alter the outcome of resonant overstability.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

Yao Wang, Yichen Zhang, Rubén Fedriani, Kei E. I. Tanaka, Viviana Rosero, et al.

Most massive stars form in binary systems, which profoundly influence their subsequent evolution. However, how such systems form remains poorly understood, with several competing scenarios proposed, including disk fragmentation, core fragmentation and capture. Determining the orbital architectures of massive binaries, particularly during their earliest embedded phases, is therefore crucial for distinguishing among these formation pathways, but direct measurements of their three-dimensional motions have remained exceptionally challenging. Here we present high-resolution, multi-epoch sub-millimeter-to-centimeter ALMA and JVLA observations of the massive protobinary IRAS 07299$-$1651, complemented by JWST and VLT infrared imaging. We detect orbital proper motion of the binary components, enabling a full three-dimensional orbital reconstruction. Combining orbital fitting, multi-wavelength continuum modelling, hydrogen recombination line kinematics and jet observations, we find that the preferred orbital solutions are highly eccentric and close to parabolic, while both circumstellar disks are strongly misaligned with the orbital plane. These properties are naturally explained by a ``core-merger'' scenario in which the two protostars originated independently from initially unbound cores that recently underwent a near-parabolic encounter, producing an eccentric binary with a current separation of about 200 au. These findings suggest that the core-merger process may represent an important pathway for forming eccentric massive binaries.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 7 September 2026

I. I. Grozdanova, J. S. Urquhart, W. -J. Kim, F. Wyrowski, T. Csengeri, et al.

We examine the relation between star formation and dense gas, traced by HCN(1-0), using a sample of 343 Galactic clumps spanning the full range of evolutionary stages representative of high-mass and cluster formation, including quiescent, protostellar, young stellar object (YSO), and HII regions. Earlier Galactic studies, based primarily on luminous HII regions, reported a linear correlation between infrared (IR) and HCN luminosities, consistent with extragalactic surveys, and interpreted it as a universal star formation law. Our larger evolutionary sample yields a significantly steeper slope of $1.80\pm0.08$, inconsistent with extragalactic trends. However, we find that each of the star-forming evolutionary stages individually has a shallower slope ($\sim$1.2) than that of the full sample, with quiescent clumps showing no correlation. We estimate the Milky Way's total IR and HCN luminosities from dense clumps by integrating the bolometric luminosities and clump masses of Hi-GAL sources. Both fall significantly below extragalactic values, demonstrating that clumps alone cannot account for the IR-HCN relation. Only $\sim$5-25 per cent of Galactic HCN luminosity arises from dense clumps, implying that most extragalactic HCN traces gas that is not involved in star formation. Additionally, dense clumps contribute only $\sim$2-3 per cent of the Milky Way's IR luminosity, which is dominated instead by extended HII regions and PDRs tracing longer star formation timescales. As a result, the observed linear relation in nearby galaxies reflects a nearly constant star formation efficiency averaged over large areas and long timescales, rather than a direct link between SFR and dense gas mass.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 25 September 2026

Yongquan Luo, Jianjun Zhou, Tie Liu, Jarken Esimbek, Siju Zhang, et al.

We present a multiwavelength study of the massive star formation region IRAS 16119-5048 (I16119) using ALMA ATOMS Band 3 and QUARKS Band 6 observations, complemented by archival ATCA radio continuum and Spitzer mid-infrared data. The CO (2-1) emission reveals a system of high-velocity streamer-like structures around the central region. Using dendrogram analysis of velocity-channel maps followed by linking in position-position-velocity space, we identify 16 approximately radially distributed streamers whose projected trajectories converge toward a common central region. The kinetic energy of the outflows is at least an order of magnitude lower than those of most known explosive outflows, while their mass entrainment and momentum rates are high compared with typical protostellar outflows, suggesting that I16119 may represent a low-energy explosive outflow candidate. Dense-gas and photodissociation-region tracers reveal shell-like structures associated with the 8 $μ$m emission, indicating that feedback from the H II region may influence the streamer morphology. The 1.3 mm continuum resolves 27 dense cores along a fragmented filamentary structure. Their separations are consistent with thermal Jeans or cylindrical fragmentation, while the collect-and-collapse scenario is unsupported. The dense cores also show evidence of mass segregation, with the most massive cores concentrated near the inferred explosive centre. We suggest that I16119 is a plausible low-energy explosive outflow candidate, possibly triggered by dynamical interactions among centrally concentrated massive cores. However, the complex velocity structure and possible contamination from individual core-driven outflows prevent a definitive classification. More sensitive, higher angular-resolution observations are required to confirm the nature of the outflow.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 7 September 2026

João Alves, Stefan Meingast, Alena Rottensteiner

We measure how young star clusters disperse over time in the two nearest star-forming complexes. Our sample comprises 44 SigMA-Gaia-defined clusters in Orion and 31 in Sco—Cen, with isochronal ages of 2—25 Myr. We extend each cluster's census with eROSITA-selected young stars that share its parallax and motion and lie within the distance they could have traveled ballistically since birth. By 10—30 Myr, about one in three former cluster stars lies outside the cluster's cataloged boundary. Across both complexes and the full age range, we find that (1) the half-member radius increases linearly with age, $r_{50} \simeq \sigma_{\text{birth}} t$, (2) the velocity dispersion shows no measurable evolution, and (3) all studied clusters are unbound. These results support free expansion. Young clusters in Orion and Sco-Cen emerge unbound from their birth clouds and coast at their birth velocity dispersion without significant relaxation or a characteristic dispersal timescale. We further show that memberships defined by density contrast preferentially omit the fastest stars, making the same clusters appear to expand more slowly ($\propto t^{0.6}$), cool with age, and approach equilibrium.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

Moa Huppenkothen, Sylvia Ploeckinger, Joop Schaye, Alejandro Benítez-Llambay, Evgenii Chaikin, et al.

We analyse the neutral ISM of galaxies at redshift z=0 in the COLIBRE hydrodynamical simulations and investigate the conditions under which these two gas phases coexist in a narrow range of thermal pressures. COLIBRE galaxies are selected based on the metallicity of their ISM. The median and mass-weighted distributions of thermal pressures of the multiphase ISM are analysed and compared to thermal equilibrium models and observations. The ISM in galaxies with gas metallicities similar to solar values exhibits a clear multiphase structure with a warm and cold phase coexisting in a certain range of thermal pressures. The pressures at which the ISM is multiphase depend on the gas metallicity. For COLIBRE galaxies with lower metallicities ($Z_{\mathrm{ISM}}\lesssim0.1\,\mathrm{Z}_{\odot}$), this multiphase structure largely disappears, partly due to resolution. The thermal pressures weighted by the HI mass of the neutral phases in COLIBRE galaxies are lower than, but still comparable to, some theoretical works and observational estimates. The thermal pressures show a strong dependence on the weighting scheme. If weighted by the star formation rate or CI mass, the thermal pressures of the cold phase match those derived from observations. The resulting pressures depend on a combination of the assumed radiation field strength, dust abundance, limited resolution and the weighting scheme. The strong dependence of the thermal pressures on the weighting scheme indicates observational tracers used to estimate the thermal pressure are biased towards high-pressure regions.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 10 September 2026

Pak Shing Li, Christopher F. McKee, Richard I. Klein

We present the results of a driven, ideal magnetohydrodynamics simulation of a molecular cloud to study the formation of filamentary structures in molecular clouds and their fragmentation into dense cloud cores. Shock compression results in the formation of sub-parsec long filamentary structures. Large-scale supersonic flows push these small filaments together and form massive filamentary clouds. The main filament that forms stretches across the full 4.4 pc length of the simulation and has a median FWHM of 0.075 pc, similar to that observed in many molecular clouds. Subfilaments inside the main filament have a median FWHM of 0.03-0.04 pc, similar to the ``fibers" observed in molecular lines. The collision and merger of subcritical subfilaments is an important mechanism for the formation of prestellar cores. Colliding subfilaments and the resulting core at their intersection is a hub-filament system similar to that associated with massive star formation, but on a smaller scale. Core mergers can be significant in the growth of pre-stellar cores and may play a role in the formation of binary stars.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 11 September 2026

Bayron Portilla-Revelo, Konstantin V. Getman, Ágnes Kóspál, Dmitry Semenov, Vitaly Akimkin, et al.

A star's radiation field is the main energy source of a planet-forming disk. Stellar photons—-from X-rays to optical—-are reprocessed in the inner protoplanetary disk enabling mid-IR diagnostics of the disk's physical conditions. Most pre-main-sequence stars accrete at moderate rates and emit X-rays efficiently. Such activity is expected to drive stochastic variability in the stellar spectrum. It is not clear to what extent such variability affects the thermochemical structure of protoplanetary disks. We aim to examine the effect of routine accretion variability and X-ray flares on the thermochemical structure and mid-IR line emission spectra of protoplanetary disks. We combine multiepoch, contemporaneous X-ray and NUV/optical observations of the DQ Tau binary with JWST/MIRI spectra of its circumbinary disk. We interpret the data and assess the effect of a varying stellar spectrum on the disk using a thermochemical model illustrative of the system. Synthetic fluxes of CO, CO2, HCN, and H2O are systematically stronger at periastron than at apastron due to an enhanced accretion luminosity. Variations in the integrated fluxes lie within a factor of two between epochs, in agreement with the JWST/MIRI spectra of DQ Tau. Routine stellar variability induces only modest changes in the disk's structure, yet it can still shift the snowline outwards by 17 percent relative to its apastron position. Because the JWST observations did not coincide with X-ray flares, our flare results rely on simulations: moderate-intensity flares leave most mid-IR molecular emission unchanged; in contrast, X-ray flares strongly enhance the abundances and mid-IR luminosities of H I, Ar II, and Ne II in the disk surface. Our results imply that the Spitzer/JWST line variability observed in non-outbursting systems is consistent with moderately variable stellar spectra driven by accretion and magnetospheric activity.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 6 September 2026

Brandt A. L. Gaches, Thomas G. Bisbas, Lothar Brendel, Zhengping Zhu

For decades, the Orion Bar has been the prototypical photodissociation region. Viewed nearly edge-on, it offers a unique window into the stratified chemical structure of the atomic-to-molecular transition of the interstellar medium. Understanding its photochemistry is essential to interpreting key observations originating from dense photo-dissociation regions. ALMA and JWST observations reveal that H2 photodissociation front overlaps with the C+ recombination front and exhibits a complex spatial morphology. Despite considerable theoretical effort, existing modeling approaches based on simplified geometrical assumptions have difficulties reproducing the spatial emission structure. Our aim is to investigate the response of photochemistry in realistic three-dimensional density distributions, using the Orion Bar as a representative application. We present the first fully three-dimensional high-resolution model of an Orion Bar analogue that resolves the relevant photochemical fronts using the upgraded steady-state 3D-PDR photo-dissociation region code, which allows for the treatment of plane-irradiatation and for the solution of the non-LTE H2 rovibrational levels. We find that the H2 dissociation front is characterized by a complex surface that overlaps with the C+ recombination front. Our 3D model can reproduce the complex morphology of H2 emission seen in observations, in particular the arc- and filament-like features, and provides a physical explanation of its chemistry. The overlapping H2 dissociation and C+ recombination fronts and the spatial emission morphology can be explained due to the three-dimensional gas distribution, resulting in shadowing and shielding by dense substructures. Our results mark a turning point for astrochemistry, where three-dimensional steady-state models can deliver fundamentally new insights into the chemistry of the interstellar medium. (Abridged)

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 August 2026

D. San Andrés, V. M. Rivilla, L. Colzi, M. Sanz-Novo, S. Martín, et al.

In recent years, the inventory of interstellar molecules has rapidly grown, yet detections of complex species are confined to a few chemically rich sources, raising the question of whether such complexity is genuinely rare or shaped by observational biases. We present the Galactic Centre G+0.633-0.0604 molecular cloud, located in the southern part of the Sgr B2 complex, as a new and very promising laboratory for the discovery of new interstellar molecules. We analysed data from a high-sensitivity molecular line survey of G+0.633, covering nearly 100 GHz of aggregated bandwidth over the 31$-$275 GHz frequency range with the Yebes 40m, IRAM 30m and APEX radio telescopes. G+0.633 exhibits an exceptionally rich molecular feedstock comparable to that of the chemically rich G+0.693 cloud in the northern part of Sgr B2, establishing it as its 'astrochemical twin'. We report new robust interstellar detections of 15 astrochemically relevant species, most of prebiotic interest, previously identified only in G+0.693 or a very limited number of sources. These species include urea, $C$- and $N$-cyanomethanimine, ethanolamine, glycolamide, carbonic acid, and dimethyl sulphide. Our results reveal that the extraordinary molecular complexity observed in G+0.693 is not unique, but may instead reflect a natural outcome of shock-dominated chemistry in the Galactic Centre. The G+0.633 and G+0.693 clouds exhibit remarkably similar excitation conditions and comparable molecular abundances, establishing them as an ideal benchmarking pair for astrochemical studies. Moreover, G+0.633 offers a clear advantage for molecular observations over G+0.693 owing to the significantly narrower linewidths of its molecular line emission, nearly half as broad as those characteristic of G+0.693, making it an exceptionally powerful target for guiding the search for increasingly complex molecules in the ISM.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 17 September 2026

G. Marton, M. Madarász, J. Roquette, M. Audard, I. Gezer, et al.

In modern large-scale surveys, young stellar objects (YSOs) are mostly identified by the infrared excess in their spectral energy distributions (SEDs). To this end, YSO identification and classification were mostly based on certain colours, resulting in wavelength-specific methods. Using all available data allows us to construct a uniformly classified YSO catalogue by applying the same identification method to heterogeneous samples, reducing systematic differences and enabling more consistent studies of YSO populations and star formation. Our goal is to develop a method that takes advantage of the heterogeneous data available in the VizieR database and to provide a tool that can be used to identify YSOs with high accuracy. We also aim to create the largest homogeneous catalogue of YSOs. We use the CDS VizieR and NASA/IPAC IRSA to collect data for a large number of objects of various types. The data collected included SEDs, light curves, and direct imaging and were used to build different image representations. These were used to teach deep learning algorithms to differentiate between YSOs and all other types of sources. Architectures from the PyTorch library and custom-built convolutional neural networks were applied to create an ensemble of binary classifiers specialised at identifying YSOs. The resulting method is able to automatically identify YSO candidates with an accuracy higher than 90\% while contamination is identified with an accuracy higher than 99\%. We applied our classifier to numerous YSO catalogues to confirm the youth of the stars and to create the largest catalogue of homogeneously identified potential YSOs ever – the NEMESIS General YSO catalogue contains 274\,408 unique, high reliability YSOs. Their positions on the colour-magnitude diagrams, and their distribution relative to the local Galactic structures, were also used to test their young nature.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 25 September 2026

Raúl O. Chametla, Martin E. Pessah, F. Javier Sánchez-Salcedo, David Vokrouhlický, Mauricio Reyes-Ruiz, et al.

Circumplanetary disks (CPDs) regulate gas accretion onto forming giant planets and provide the environment in which their satellites may form. We use high-resolution, global three-dimensional simulations to investigate the early formation, orientation, and outflows of a CPD around a Jupiter-mass planet embedded in a turbulent magnetized protoplanetary disk. Within a locally isothermal, ideal-MHD framework, we evolve disks threaded by net vertical magnetic fields, corresponding to initial plasma parameters $875\leqβ\leq3500$, until magnetorotational-instability-driven turbulence is established before inserting the planet. We also perform a hydrodynamic control simulation. In the most strongly magnetized model, with $β=875$, the CPD forms already highly inclined and reaches a maximum tilt of approximately $87^\circ$. By contrast, the hydrodynamic CPD and the MHD models with $β\gtrsim1000$ remain nearly coplanar. A control simulation in which the planet is inserted before global MRI turbulence develops also remains coplanar, despite producing local turbulence and bipolar outflows. The large tilt is therefore associated with the pre-existing global turbulent state and its evolved velocity and toroidal magnetic-field structure, although our current diagnostics do not distinguish between a direct magnetic torque and the accretion of misaligned angular momentum. All MHD models launch bipolar outflows; in the highly tilted case, these develop a curved, helical morphology that persists until the end of our short-term simulations. These results identify pre-existing global magnetized turbulence as a viable route to generating strongly inclined CPDs and twisted planetary outflows.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

Katia Gkimisi, Da Eun Kang, Dominika Itrich, Rossella Anania, Eleonora Fiorellino, et al.

Most stars form in massive stellar clusters, where intense far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation from OB stars can accelerate the dispersal of protoplanetary disks through external photoevaporation. Quantifying the impact of this process on disk evolution remains challenging, particularly in distant and crowded star-forming regions. We investigate the low-mass stellar population in the highly irradiated center of Trumpler 14 and examine how the local FUV radiation field influences circumstellar disk evolution. We extracted stellar spectra from VLT/MUSE observations using an enhanced background-optimized extraction method, carefully corrected for instrumental response as a function of wavelength and finally derived the stellar parameters with the SAPSAL deep-learning framework. We combined these results with a probabilistic estimate of the local FUV field and near-infrared photometry to identify disk-bearing stars. We identify 310 bona fide cluster members with an age of $0.66^{+0.73}_{-0.35}$ Myr and local radiation fields spanning $\log(FUV)\simeq4.2-6.0\ G_{\mathrm{0}}$. The fraction of stars exhibiting near-infrared excess decreases from 30% at the lowest FUV fluxes to under 5% at $\log(FUV)\gtrsim5.6 \ G_{\mathrm{0}}$, while no significant correlation is found between our simplified estimate of the optical veiling and the local FUV field. The pronounced decline in the disk fraction with ambient FUV flux provides strong evidence for external photoevaporation rapidly dispersing circumstellar disks in the core of Trumpler 14. Our results confirm previous disk dispersal estimates and extend to higher values of the FUV field strength.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 23 September 2026

Lara Piscarreta, Giacomo Beccari, Carlo Manara, Rossella Anania, Sierk van Terwisga, et al.

We present a homogeneous VLT/X-Shooter study of accretion in young stellar objects spanning the entire Orion A complex. Our sample includes 91 pre-main-sequence stars hosting a protoplanetary disk according to Spitzer photometry, of which 34 have complementary ALMA dust mass measurements. We derived stellar and accretion properties using a self-consistent multi-component fitting procedure. Our sample encompasses spectral types from K3 down to M5, corresponding to stellar masses within $\sim$0.8-0.1 $M_{\odot}$. The accretion-stellar luminosity ($L_{acc}-L_{\star}$) and the mass accretion rate-stellar mass ($\dot{M}_{acc}-M_{\star}$) scaling relations in Orion A are consistent with those of other star-forming regions (SFRs) that span a range of stellar densities, far-ultraviolet (FUV) irradiation fields, and ages, with all regions occupying the same locus in parameter space. For the 34 sources with complementary dust mass measurements, we present the first investigation of the $\dot{M}_{acc}$ and disk mass ($M_{disk}$) correlation in Orion A, recovering a spread consistent with that reported for other regions. Despite our sample spanning nearly five orders of magnitude in local FUV field strength, we find no statistically significant correlation between $\dot{M}_{acc}$ and FUV irradiation. However, by combining our sample with literature measurements in Lupus, the Orion Nebula Cluster, and $σ$ Orionis, we find a tentative population-level decrease of the inferred disk lifetime $t_{\rm disk} =M_{disk}/\dot{M}_{acc}$ toward stronger FUV environments, though large intrinsic scatter and limited sample sizes at intermediate and high FUV fields prevent firm conclusions. The homogeneous $\dot{M}_{acc}$ measurements reported here provide a solid foundation for future studies of accretion and disk evolution across the diverse environments of Orion A and other SFRs.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 1 September 2026

Evgenii R. Redkin, Eduard I. Vorobyov, Paola Pinilla, Fabiola A. Gerosa, Konstanze Zwintz

Traditionally, the disc is believed to evolve under the influence of turbulent viscosity, although the importance of this mechanism has recently been questioned. Alternatively, magnetic disc wind or gravitational instability could be considered, but which of these three mechanisms contributes the most at a given evolutionary stage remains an open question. We present global numerical hydrodynamic simulations of protoplanetary disc evolution in the thin-disc limit on disc lifetime timescales, including all three mechanisms of mass and angular momentum transport. We calculate the gravitational, viscous, and magnetic torques to assess the contribution of each mechanism. We found that these transport mechanisms occupy distinct zones of influence in the disc depending on the stage of evolution: the dominance of disc self-gravity during the early phase is replaced by the prevalence of magnetic disc wind and viscosity, with the latter being especially relevant at the disc periphery. We show that a noticeable decrease in disc mass occurs only after the termination of the embedded phase. The suppression of disc viscous spreading is achieved only for the most intense wind; otherwise, the disc continues to grow in size till the end of simulations. The spiral structure contributes to the temporary retention of dust in the disc. However, this is insufficient to prevent the depletion of dust on long timescales. The results emphasize the importance of a comprehensive approach to long-term simulations of protoplanetary discs with no single mechanism of mass and angular momentum transport regarded as exclusive.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Deryl E. Long, L. Ilsedore Cleeves, Charles J. Law, Fred C. Adams, Dana E. Anderson, et al.

Observations of ionization-tracing molecules in protoplanetary disks suggest that their ionization environments are diverse due to varying degrees of cosmic ray modulation, stellar activity, and environmental differences that alter the impact of ionizing radiation. To better understand ionization chemistry in disks, we present the largest survey of resolved observations of molecular ions to date. Using new and archival ALMA observations we detect HCO+, H13CO+, N2H+, and DCO+ toward seven protoplanetary disks (AS 209, DM Tau, GM Aur, HD 163296, LkCa 15, MWC 480, and V4046 Sgr). We compare distributions of ions to continuum features and find no robust relationships between the two. The observations do, however, reveal distinctions between Herbigs and T-Tauris and hint at a dichotomy between two types of T-Tauri ionization environments. The Herbig sources exhibit unique centrally-peaked N2H+ J = 4-3 emission, which we speculate could be tracing either a highly ionized surface layer or a zone of CO destruction, possibly due to their strong UV fields. Three T-Tauri sources in our sample exhibit bright, radially coincident rings in all optically thin molecular ion lines. We speculate that these radially coincident ion rings are evidence of a global change in ionization, possibly at the edge of a T-Tauriosphere. While it is not yet clear what factors most strongly influence the distribution of ion emission, this survey more than doubles the number of resolved ion observations in disks and points to potential distinctions in ion emission morphology related to the central star and environment.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 16 September 2026

C. Boeche, A. Vallenari, J. Alonso-Santiago, A. Bragaglia, R. Carrera, et al.

Context: the recent discovery of filamentary stellar structures in the Milky Way disk raises the question of their formation in the context of the Galaxy evolution. Aims: in this work, we aim to kinematically and chemically characterize several filamentary stellar structures by looking for clues about their origin and formation mechanism. Methods: recent works using machine-learning techniques and $Gaia$ data have identified many previously unknown Galactic strings. We cross-matched such data with the kinematics derived from the most recent Gaia DR3 catalog as well as chemical data provided by the Galactic Archaeology with HERMES (GALAH) survey. Results: we found that most strings contain one or more open clusters and are kinematically hotter than open clusters (with internal velocity dispersions in the 1—7 km/s range) but cooler than field stars. 18 objects appear chemically homogeneous ($σ_{[Fe/H]}$ <= 0.1 dex), while two strings have a broad [Fe/H] distribution similar to the field stars but exhibit a different mean metallicity, which may identify them as migrating stellar structures. For seven objects the GALAH observations focus on the embedded open clusters; therefore, the chemical abundances are not representative of the whole structure. An object shows clues of chemical gradients along its extension in Galactic longitude. Conclusions: these objects may be evaporating or disrupted open clusters in which the chemical homogeneity is preserved in an unbound and expanding cloud of stars or co-moving stars belonging to a former and now disrupting star formation hub. In a few cases they appear to be moving groups with no chemical homogeneity, likely formed by the dynamical action of the Galactic bar or spiral arms. More data are needed to confirm such hypotheses.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

A. Lacquement, H. Beust, G. Duchêne, C. Lawlor, C. Ginski, et al.

GG Tau $A$ is a young triple system with the close pair, $Ab_1$—$Ab_2$, and $Aa$, surrounded by a massive circumtriple disk with a large inner cavity difficult to explain in a binary framework. We aim to determine the orbital architecture and individual stellar masses of GG Tau $A$ and assess how the available astrometric and disk-based constraints restrict the range of admissible solutions. We performed a joint fit using Oracle, developed specifically for hierarchical stellar systems. All astrometric measurements were placed in a common reference frame, since the historical wide-orbit astrometry is given relative to the unresolved photocenter of the $Ab$ subsystem. The fit included one new wide-orbit astrometric epoch and a prior on the total stellar mass derived from disk kinematics. We then applied, in post-processing, an additional geometrical constraint based on the observed center of the circumtriple disk. The fit yields orbital solutions compatible with the available astrometric and disk-based constraints and provides estimates of the individual stellar masses. The additional wide-orbit epoch only marginally reduces the range of admissible solutions. By contrast, the disk-center constraint leaves the favored orbital architectures largely unchanged but significantly tightens the stellar-mass partition. This yields posterior masses of $0.521^{+0.069}_{-0.051}$, $0.106^{+0.017}_{-0.013}$, and $0.79^{+0.10}_{-0.10}$ $M_\odot$ for $Ab_1$, $Ab_2$, and $Aa$, respectively. The reported values are posterior medians with 16th—84th percentile intervals. A joint treatment of the two orbital levels is required to recover a physically meaningful architecture and constrain the individual stellar masses. The resulting solutions provide a basis for future dynamical modeling of the circumtriple disk and for testing whether the observed cavity can further constrain the system architecture.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Marissa Vlasblom, Andrew D. Sellek, Ewine F. van Dishoeck

(Abridged) The composition of the inner regions of protoplanetary disks is known to change with time due to the delivery of icy grains. Cold H$_2$O emission seen with JWST-MIRI is often hypothesized to be a tracer of this pebble drift. However, it is unclear to what extent processes such as photodissociation or the co-delivery of dust may impede such detections. We aim to obtain an improved, 2D view of transport in disks, to better understand how these processes can be traced by H$_2$O emission as seen with JWST-MIRI. We combine the 1D transport code DiscEvolution with the 2D thermochemical code DALI to create several grids of models in which the gas-phase abundances, dust properties, or both are varied according to the transport model. We consider scenarios with and without a traffic jam inside the H$_2$O snowline. The transport of both gas and dust leads to significant temperature changes within the disk, which strongly influence line fluxes and ratios. When a traffic jam is present, the delivery of H$_2$O can proceed unnoticed due to the co-delivery of dust. In addition, the relative strength of cold H$_2$O lines is not found to be sensitive to this delivery of gas-phase H$_2$O. Instead, the cold H$_2$O lines can be greatly enhanced by the delivery of only dust to the inner disk when a traffic jam is present, and one can create a spectrum with strong cold H$_2$O emission solely through the delivery of dust rather than H$_2$O. Recent work has used the 1500/6000 K H$_2$O line ratio as a proxy to determine the pebble mass flux crossing the H$_2$O snowline, but we find that this line ratio is rather sensitive to the temperature and dust distribution of the disk, and is often influenced not only by the cold H$_2$O mass, but also by the hot H$_2$O mass. This introduces complexities and trends as a function of time that do not match the true evolution of the pebble flux.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

M. Zannese, J. R. Goicoechea, S. Cuadrado, J. Pety, M. Gerin, et al.

Rotationally excited HCN and CN lines, due to their high critical densities, are often used as tracers of gas densities. ALMA, with its high spectral and spatial resolution, provides unique access to the spatial morphology and kinematics of HCN and CN emission to study the substructures of the molecular cloud edges. We present new sub-arcsecond imaging of HCN 4-3 and CN 3-2 lines to probe the density structure in the Orion Bar. We study their spatial distribution and compare them to other existing tracers inside the PDR. We complemented these data with multiple J lines observed with the IRAM 30m and Herschel telescopes to study HCN and CN excitation near the dissociation front (DF). We find that HCN and CN emission are more spatially extended toward the more UV-shielded cloud than C2H and H2. However, they both peak very close to the DF, in disagreement with previous lower-angular-resolution observations. This morphology can be explained by the enhanced UV-driven chemistry. In dense and irradiated environments, HCN is efficiently formed via H2+CN. Hence, its emission can also probe warmer gas near the DF. CN emission is observed in the atomic PDR, not accounted by stationary gas-phase chemistry due to the very low H2 abundances. We interpret this as photoprocessing of CN-bearing PAHs. We derive high densities near the DF when comparing observations with RADEX and Meudon PDR Code models. Finally, we do not find evidence of small-scale high-density clumps and argue that the observed density gradient could explain the variation of excitation between the different tracers. We resolve two velocity components in HCN emission: 10.5 km/s (velocity of the Bar) and 11.5 km/s. The very structured emission of HCN observed in this redshifted emission component is more compatible with the signature of the propagation of a UV-induced shock compressing the gas than clumps.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 16 September 2026

Sota Arakawa, Hidenori Genda, Noriyuki Kawasaki, Wataru Fujiya, Yosei Iwasaki, et al.

Astronomical observations of planet-forming circumstellar disks indicate that planetesimals form from 0.1-mm- to 1-cm-sized dust aggregates, commonly called ``pebbles.'' When such pebbles accrete beyond the water snow line, the resulting icy planetesimals undergo water—rock differentiation and develop porous pebble-pile cores whose voids are saturated with liquid water. Circulation of this water enhances heat transport in the core, suppressing the temperature rise caused by the decay of radionuclides. In this study, we constrain the accretion age and constituent pebble size of Ryugu's parent planetesimal by modeling the thermal evolution of icy planetesimals and comparing the results with the precipitation ages and temperatures of aqueously formed minerals identified in samples returned from asteroid Ryugu. Our numerical results suggest that Ryugu's parent planetesimal accreted within 2.0 Myr of the formation of calcium—aluminum-rich inclusions. The inferred early accretion age supports the hypothesis that Ryugu's parent planetesimal formed earlier than most chondrule-bearing carbonaceous chondrite parent planetesimals, potentially explaining the absence of chondrules in Ryugu samples. We also found that the core of the parent planetesimal was composed of pebbles no larger than a few millimeters. Such small pebble sizes are consistent with theoretical predictions for planetesimals formed beyond the CO$_{2}$ snow line.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 17 September 2026

Aurélien Piluso, Vincent Maillard, Raphael Meshaka, Emeric Bron, Franck Le Petit, et al.

We compare H2 high ro-vibrational observations of 5 PDRs (S140, IC63, Horsehead Nebula, NGC 2023 and Orion Bar) obtained with the IGRINS spectrograph to PDR models produced with the Meudon PDR code, in order to estimate the physical conditions and to constrain the physical and chemical processes that govern PDRs. We use newly flux-calibrated and extinction-corrected IGRINS H2 observations covering the 1.45-2.45 um range at a resolution of 45000, and adjust Meudon PDR models using both a simple chi2 minimization approach and a robust method using Bayesian inversion followed by posterior exploration via an advanced MCMC technique. The PDR models use specific incident FUV spectra for each PDRs based on theoretical stellar spectra from the Pollux database. The Meudon PDR code is able to reproduce more than 85% of the observed H2 ro-vibrational line intensities within a factor of two. We find that (1) a realistic modeling of the incident FUV field (both in term of geometry and of spectral shape) and (2) the inclusion of recent data on collisional de-excitation rates for high vibrational levels of H2 are key to this success. H2 ro-vibrational emission lines are found to provide good constraints on both the thermal pressure and the incident FUV field strength, G0, although with a non-negligible remaining degeneracy in most PDRs. Additional constraints, such as the spatial scales of the PDR derived from ALMA or JWST observations, are found to be able to lift this degeneracy. For low excitation PDRs, the observations provide evidence that nascent H2 molecules formed on grains have relatively low rotational energy and high vibrational energy, as predicted by theoretical and experimental studies of the surface formation of H2.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 21 September 2026

E. I. Makarenko, A. V. Ivlev, S. Bialy, X. Zheng, B. A. L. Gaches, et al.

The ionisation balance in molecular clouds is regulated by several ionising sources, including cosmic rays, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation. Their relative importance depends on the local physical conditions and on the shielding column density. We compute the contribution of the large-scale diffuse X-ray radiation field to the ionisation in molecular clouds in the absence of strong local X-ray sources, such as young stars. Our goal is to quantify its significance relative to the Galactic cosmic rays. Using measurements of diffuse X-ray emission from the first eROSITA all-sky survey, we estimate the depth-dependent X-ray ionisation rate in molecular clouds across different Galactic environments. We consider both the observed diffuse field and a deabsorbed field obtained by correcting for foreground Galactic attenuation using HI4PI line-of-sight column densities in a pixel-by-pixel framework. Diffuse Galactic X-rays are unlikely to dominate the ionisation balance in well-shielded molecular gas ($N_{\mathrm{H}} > 5 \times 10^{21} \mathrm{cm^{-2}}$), where cosmic rays remain the primary ionising agent. At low column densities, the deabsorbed diffuse X-ray field produces ionisation rate of $ζ_X \sim 10^{-18}\mathrm{s^{-1}}$ at $N_{\mathrm H} \sim 10^{19}\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$, remaining below the lower end of Galactic cosmic ray ionisation rate ($\sim 10^{-17} \mathrm{s^{-1}}$). The X-ray contribution decreases rapidly with increasing shielding, falling to $ζ_{X}\sim10^{-19}\mathrm{s^{-1}}$ by $N_{\rm H}\sim10^{21}\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$ and to $ζ_X \sim5\times10^{-21}\mathrm{s^{-1}}$ by $N_{\rm H}\sim10^{22}\mathrm{cm^{-2}}$. Diffuse X-ray may therefore contribute to the thermal and chemical structure of low-extinction material and should be considered when interpreting ionisation tracers in diffuse or cloud-envelope environments.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 2 September 2026

Sandipan P. D. Borthakur, Mihkel Kama, Luca Fossati, Colin P. Folsom, Anna Aret, et al.

Context. Phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life on Earth and a potential tracer of planet formation history. However, there has been no detection of P-bearing molecules in protoplanetary discs so far. Herbig Ae/Be stars constantly accrete matter from their pro- toplanetary disc, which alters the composition of the stellar photosphere due to their shallow convective, or fully radiative, envelope. The altered surface composition reflects the composition of the accreting matter, and thus that of the inner protoplanetary disc. This accretion contamination of stellar photosphere can persist after accretion has ended in young A and B-type stars (age < 50 Myr). Aims. We aim to quantify the fraction of P locked in dust (the refractory fraction of P) compared to gas in the inner protoplanetary disc around Herbig Ae/Be stars. Methods. We measure the stellar parameters and abundance of 5 Herbig Ae/Be stars using optical and UV spectra, to compare their P and Fe abundances. We also used a 20 Myrs old main sequence B-type star, which has P and Fe abundance estimated from optical spectrum. Fe is assumed to be completely locked in refractory reservoirs in the inner disc. A parameterised relationship between the stellar P and Fe abundance gives the fraction of P locked in refractory reservoirs. Results. We find the refractory fraction of P in the inner protoplanetary disc to be > 96 % within 95th percentile of the posterior distribution. Conclusions. Consistent with a previous finding in the HD 100546 system, we conclude most of the P in the inner protoplanetary disc is locked in dust, likely in refractory minerals like schreibersite or apatite. Our result, combined with the low cosmic abundance of P, is also consistent with the lack of infrared and mm-wavelength observations of P-bearing molecules in protoplanetary discs to date.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 August 2026

Niamh Mallaghan, Ernst J. W. de Mooij, Christopher A. Watson, Edward Gillen, Matthew Kenworthy, et al.

Young stellar systems provide key insights into the processes governing star/planet formation, often exhibiting complex and evolving photometric variability. In this paper, we present an analysis of the object around NOI 105872, observed by the Next Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) to eclipse a young ($4.1\pm0.4$ Myr) M-type star in the Orion Nebula Cluster. The system displays deep, asymmetric eclipses with a period of $\sim0.69$ days, alongside variability in morphology. We combine photometric observations spanning approximately a decade from multiple ground- and space-based facilities to investigate the nature of this system. We explore a range of physical scenarios to reproduce the eclipse profiles and their evolution. After analysis, our preferred explanation is a circumsecondary disk surrounding a companion in orbit around the M-type primary. We adopt a six-parameter disk model and fit the eclipse profiles independently to each dataset. The best-fitting solution yields a disk radius of $\sim 0.005 \mathrm{au}$ or $0.98 R_{*}$, with broadly consistent orientations across epochs, but with variations that may be attributed to disk precession or intrinsic stellar variability. Constraints from the Hill radius imply a companion mass consistent with a very low-mass stellar companion. These results establish NOI 105872 as a candidate for a circumsecondary disk system in a young stellar environment. Continued photometric monitoring and spectroscopic follow-up will be essential to confirm this interpretation. If confirmed, systems such as NOI 105872 provide valuable benchmarks for understanding disk dynamics, companion formation, and the origin of complex eclipse phenomena in young stars.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

Magnus S. Sørensen-Taylor, Anders Johansen, Troels Haugbølle

Planetesimal formation via the streaming instability of small pebbles in protoplanetary discs requires enhanced solid concentrations relative to the solar metallicity, $Z\simeq 0.01$. We investigate here whether pile-ups in weak axisymmetric pressure bumps are sufficient to trigger strong particle concentrations via the streaming instability. Using high-resolution 2D shearing box simulations with millimetre-to-centimetre pebbles, we explore the behaviour of the streaming instability in the presence of a non-reinforced pressure bump. We find that even very weak bumps, with gas density amplitudes as low as $A = 0.04$ relative to the background, produce dense particle filaments via the streaming instability for all tested Stokes numbers at solar metallicity in the inner disc. Outer disc regions require slightly stronger bumps ($A \geq 0.14$) to form filaments at a solar metallicity, though the necessary bump amplitude is substantially lowered when the metallicity is increased to $Z = 0.02$. Our results suggest that weak, non-reinforced pressure bumps can act as focal points for planetesimal formation via the streaming instability in small pebbles, in contrast to previous studies which used reinforcement to maintain the pressure bump. Additionally, we introduce a pressure-bump-dependent clumping criterion, $(Z/χ)_\mathrm{crit} \approx 0.3$, where $χ= Π_\mathrm{min}^2/Π_0$ reduces to the background pressure gradient $Π_0$ in the absence of a pressure bump. This criterion encapsulates the scale of solid pile-ups at lower pressure gradients and accurately predicts the onset of strong clumping based on the results of our simulations. With pressure bump signatures being common features of observed young discs and magnetohydrodynamical simulations, the results of our 2D simulations imply that weak pressure bumps may be major cradles for planetesimal formation in protoplanetary discs.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 September 2026

Anastasia Topalidou, Nienke van der Marel, Paola Pinilla, Haochang Jiang, Osmar M. Guerra-Alvarado, et al.

Context. Protoplanetary disks are the birthplaces of planets, and understanding the distribution and evolution of dust within them is essential for tracing the early stages of planet formation. Aims. Following the DSHARP survey, we aim to constrain the radial distribution of the dust surface density and the maximum emitting grain size in the disks of CY Tau and DoAr 25 and assess the relative importance of dust trapping and radial drift in shaping the dust population in disks. Methods. We present multiwavelength continuum observations of CY Tau and DoAr 25 from ALMA at 2.4 and 1.25 mm and archival VLA data at 8.8 mm. Combining the observations with dust continuum forward modeling, we sought to infer a radial profile of the two systems of the dust surface density and maximum emitting grain size. Results. For DoAr 25, the results reveal a prominent dust ring at 111 AU and evidence for large (centimeter-sized) grains extending to the outer disk. In contrast, CY Tau exhibits a more compact and smoother structure, with both the dust surface density and grain size decreasing monotonically with radius. A tentative shoulder feature in the radial profiles, located between 20-40 AU, may point to a marginal substructure, possibly a weak dust trap. Conclusions. DoAr 25 shows evidence for a dust trap capable of halting inward drift, while CY Tau exhibits behavior consistent with evolution dominated by radial drift. Together, these results highlight how dust evolution processes shape the disk morphology and grain-size distributions, even in the low-mass stellar regime.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 2 September 2026

Raghav Arora, Oscar Agertz, Christoph Federrath, Mark R. Krumholz

Gas gravitational instability plays a crucial role in secular galactic evolution, but the role played by magnetic fields in mediating this instability - despite their dynamical relevance and ubiquity - is still not understood. To investigate this question we conduct a parameter study using numerical simulations of 3D isolated disc galaxies that are initialized in equilibrium, but have a range of initial magnetisation, quantified by $β\in \{0.1, 0.5, 1, 10, 100, \infty\}$, where $β$ is the ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure. We analyse how magnetic field strength influences the formation of dense filaments and feathers driven by gravitational instability. The simulations show that filament growth rate and spacing are significantly altered by dynamically strong fields ($β\lesssim 10$), and that these effects depend on the value of $β$ and strength of shear in the disc. Magnetic fields either stabilise or destabilise, with destabilisation dominating in regions with low $β$, and low shear. This makes the destabilisation particularly important in dwarf galaxies with low-shear rotation curves. Filament spacings are similarly affected differently in different galactic regions, depending upon the local field strength and shear. Our results are in good agreement with predictions from the magneto-Jeans mechanism.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 August 2026

Charles H. Gardner, Andrea Isella, Hui Li, Shengtai Li, Gennaro D'Angelo, et al.

How circumplanetary disks (CPDs) capture and retain solids is central to constraining the timescale for formation of rocky satellites and interpreting submillimeter continuum observations around giant planets. Here, we investigate the transport of gas and dust from the circumstellar disk into the CPD, using PDS 70 as our fiducial example. Based on observation-driven parameters, we perform high-resolution 3D adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamic simulations including a multifluid dust component to study dust accretion onto planets with masses of 1 $M_\mathrm{J}$ and 2.5 $M_\mathrm{J}$. We find that the pressure maximum at the gap edge imposes strong, size-dependent dust filtration, drastically lowering the solid content of the accreting flow. The net dust-to-gas mass ratio of the material accreting onto the planet is reduced by roughly two orders of magnitude relative to the outer disk. Only small grains ($\lesssim 61 μ$m for the 1 $M_\mathrm{J}$ case and $\lesssim 10 μ$m for the 2.5 $M_\mathrm{J}$ case) are able to accrete efficiently onto the CPD. Despite this filtering, we show that a continuous inflow of small grains can still deliver sufficient mass to build the observed PDS 70 c CPD or a Galilean-like satellite system within a few million years. Because more massive planets more effectively prevent the accretion of large grains, the dust that reaches the CPD is dominated by small particles with low millimeter-wave opacities. Consequently, in the absence of grain growth, interpreting millimeter continuum measurements of CPDs around massive giant planets may require invoking larger total dust masses than typically assumed.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 21 September 2026

C. C. Sarver, M. M. Giese, D. C. Lis, S. L. Widicus Weaver

We present interferometric observations with the Northern Extended Millimeter Array (NOEMA) of NGC 1333 IRAS 4B and 4B', two young stellar objects (YSOs) within the Perseus molecular cloud. YSOs, especially Class 0 protostars, are rich in gas-phase interstellar complex organic molecules (iCOMs), but relatively little is known about the spatial distribution of these important prebiotic molecules. Various molecules were imaged within IRAS 4B and the surrounding area in the 145 GHz spectral range, revealing hundreds of molecular transitions within the warm inner envelope of IRAS 4B. This work provides derived physical parameters (rotational temperature, column density, velocity shift with respect to local standard of rest, and full-width at half-maximum spectral line width) for 11 molecules toward IRAS 4B including methanol (CH$_3$OH and isotopologues), methyl formate (HCOOCH$_3$), dimethyl ether (CH$_3$OCH$_3$), acetaldehyde (CH$_3$CHO), ethanol (C$_2$H$_5$OH), glycolaldehyde (CH$_2$OHCHO), acetone (CH$_3$COCH$_3$), and isocyanic acid (HNCO). Out of these molecules, 10 are iCOMs (excluding HNCO) that trace the inner envelope of IRAS 4B and mark it as a rich source of organic material. There is a strong spatial correlation between the continuum emission of IRAS 4B and iCOM molecular emission and among various iCOMs with each other. Physical parameter and integrated intensity maps show that IRAS 4B is a binary protostar system that drives a jet in a north-south orientation and an outflow in a northwest-southeast orientation. IRAS 4B' also drives a west-east outflow but shows no evidence of molecular emission cospatial with its continuum emission.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 5 September 2026

S. E. van Terwisga, P. Woitke, A. M. Weiss, A. D. Bosman, L. Trapman

The inner disk of the T Tauri star HD 143006 is inclined and casts a broad shadow on a large portion of the outer disk. We use this extraordinary geometry to study the impact of stellar ultraviolet (UV) irradiation on disk chemistry, temperature, and line formation. We present new ALMA observations of this disk in CO, $^{13}$CO, C$^{18}$O, CN, HCN, HCO$^+$, CS and C$_3$H$_2$ and combine these with previously-published data to get a rich dataset, which is modeled with ProDiMo models for the illuminated and shadowed side by including an optional inclined inner disk to partially block stellar illumination of the outer disk. The observed line flux contrasts between the illuminated and the shadowed disk sides are small. We explain this by introducing ``equilibrated models'' which consider a slow heating/cooling relaxation of gas parcels orbiting in and out of the shadow. We fit the radial line intensity profiles of all 14 ALMA lines for both halves of the disk, the SED beyond 20$\,μ$m, and two ALMA continuum images, with an overall reduced $χ$ of about 2.3, in one combined model. Line intensities only increase slightly on the illuminated side because the gas warms up slowly, although fast UV photochemistry significantly reduces the observable molecular concentrations. For the lines of N$_2$H$^+$ and CS, which probe deeper layers where the gas and dust temperatures are coupled, slow UV-desorption of ices such as NH$_3$ and H$_2$S plays a crucial role. This can result in a brightening of these lines on the shadowed side. The carbon-to-oxygen ratio in the outer disk of HD 143006 is slightly greater than one ($\sim 1.05$). The disk mass is fitted to be as low as $0.0012 M_{\odot}$, but almost equally well-fitting models with a fixed disk mass of $0.021 M_\odot$ can be obtained after re-adjusting the disk shape, dust, and gas heating/cooling parameters. (abridged)

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

Chao Ou, Shanghuo Li, Junzhi Wang, Ian W. Stephens, Yuqiang Li

Water masers provided powerful probes of shocked gas and protostellar activity during the early stages of star formation. Using VLA K-band observations of the 22 GHz water line, we report the first detections of water masers toward dense cores in five 70 $μ$m infrared dark clumps, providing evidence for active star formation at an early evolutionary stage. We detected ten unresolved maser spots comprising thirteen velocity components, with peak flux densities of 13—499 mJy and deconvolved full widths at half maximum (FWHMs) of 0.51—3.54 km s-1. Eleven components had FWHMs below 1 km s-1, while their velocity offsets from the systemic velocities traced by the NH3(1,1) main line ranged from 0.83 to 50.73 km s-1. Four water maser spots were associated with 1.3 mm continuum emission, three of which were also associated with molecular outflows traced by CO 2-1 emission. No CO outflow signature was detected toward the remaining spots within the observed field of view, suggesting that water masers could trace deeply embedded protostellar activity whose outflows were not yet detectable in CO emission. For AGAL031, the non-detection of StokesV emission toward the strongest maser component yields an upper limit on the line of sight magnetic field strength on the order of a few hundred mG. Our results showed that star formation was already active in 70 $μ$m infrared dark clumps and that 22 GHz water masers provided insights into early protostellar environments that remained difficult to probe with common star formation tracers.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 17 September 2026

Lorenzo Peerani, Sho Shibata, Ravit Helled

Context. Giant planet formation requires reaching crossover mass, i.e., when the mass of the gaseous envelope becomes equal to the mass of the core, within the disc's lifetime. The formation process depends critically on the orbital distance and stellar mass. Aims. We simulate planet formation via pebble accretion up to crossover mass around stellar hosts with masses of 0.1-1.5 Msun, considering a range of formation locations, with and without Type I migration. Methods. We use a modified version of MESA that couples pebble accretion, gas accretion, and disc evolution. Results. We find that cold/warm Jupiters form, whereas in-situ formation fails at short orbital separations: viscous heating raises the isolation mass enough to assemble adequate cores, but the accompanying high disc's temperature prevents cooling and suppresses gas giant formation. This supports migration-based explanations for the origin of hot Jupiters. At large orbital distances, crossover can be reached before pebble isolation mass. This is possible due to efficient envelope contraction in the cold, low-opacity outer disc. Inferred core masses at crossover range between 0.7 and 20 M_Earth. Conclusions. Pebble accretion accommodates multiple formation pathways. Giant planets can also have very small cores. Overall, different formation conditions significantly influence planetary growth and can explain the diversity in compositions and internal structures observed in the exoplanet population.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

Takashi Tsukagoshi, Takayuki Muto, Hideko Nomura, Ryohei Kawabe, Satoshi Okuzumi, et al.

We present the results of high-resolution ($\sim1$~au) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the TW~Hya protoplanetary disk in the Band 6 dust continuum, as well as the \ce{^13CO} and \ce{C^18O} J=2—1 emission lines. The primary focus of this study is to investigate the kinematics, internal morphology, and local gas environment of the prominent dust blob at a radius of 52~au. By comparing our 2021 data with archival observations from 2017, we detect the proper motion of the blob. The measured azimuthal velocity of 3.3$\pm$0.9~km~s$^{-1}$ is fully consistent with local Keplerian rotation. Combined with the lack of significant radial migration over the four-year baseline, this confirms that the structure is robustly co-moving with the disk system. Crucially, our high-resolution continuum map resolves the blob into a distinct double-peaked morphology separated by $\sim$1.7~au azimuthally. We robustly validate this double-peaked substructure by reproducing it in the independent 2017 dataset using a sparse-modeling image reconstruction technique. We discuss potential physical origins for this double-peaked morphology, including an inclined circumplanetary disk with an inner dust cavity, the roots of planet-induced spiral arms, or alternative hydrodynamic scenarios that do not involve an actively accreting planet such as the U-turn trajectory of secondary dust or a short-lived hydrodynamic gas vortex. We detect no compact gas emission counterparts associated with the continuum blob. Since these CO lines likely trace optically thick upper atmospheric layers, the absence of localized vertical gas perturbations suggests that if an embedded planet is responsible for the dust structure, its mass must be exceptionally low.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 September 2026

V. Almendros-Abad, M. G. Guarcello, K. Muzic, A. Scholz, M. Andersen, et al.

[Abridged] Investigating substellar populations in young massive clusters offers crucial insights into the formation of brown dwarfs (BDs) and the role of environmental conditions in shaping their properties. Westerlund 2 (Wd2), as one of the nearest dense and massive clusters in the Milky Way, represents an ideal laboratory for studying the effects of high stellar density and ionizing radiation from massive stars on BD formation. This paper presents deep JWST/NIRCam observations of Wd2 in a large number of filters between 1.15 and 4.1 $μm$. Our analysis focuses on identifying and characterizing the BD population within the cluster. We carried out PSF photometry on deep JWST/NIRCam data obtained in 4 wide and 6 medium-band filters, using DOLPHOT. The resulting catalog was used to identify BD candidates in Wd2 through spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting with atmospheric models. The 50\% detection limit of our NIRCam catalog is $\sim$0.015-0.02 $M_\odot$, at the distance, age, and extinction of Wd2, providing the deepest view of a supermassive star cluster to date. We identify 353 substellar candidates. Most candidates (301) lie above the 10 Myr isochrone in the Hertzsprung—Russell diagram consistent with cluster membership, which are defined as strong candidates. Comparison with a control field indicates a contamination level of $\lesssim$5\% for the strong candidate sample down to masses of $\sim$0.01—0.015~$M_\odot$. We identify 73 candidates exhibiting infrared excess indicative of circumstellar disks. These objects occupy the expected infrared-excess locus in de-reddened color diagrams and represent $27.7^{+3.4}_{-3.2}$\% of the candidates detected in F410M. The resulting catalog provides a well-characterized sample for future spectroscopic confirmation and subsequent studies of the substellar population of Wd2.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 1 September 2026

Carlos Contreras Pena, Zsofia Nagy, Gregory Herczeg, Jeong-Eun Lee, Agnes Kospal, et al.

We report the discovery of a nearby FU Ori-type outburst (FUor), PR Ori B, in the L1641 cluster of the Orion star-forming region. The high-amplitude variability was first identified in the NEOWISE (3-5 $μ$m) photometry of the unresolved PR Ori binary system. Long-term, resolved optical photometric monitoring demonstrates that PR Ori B is the driver of a $ΔG=5~$mag outburst, while PR Ori A has remained constant over the last 20 years. The near-IR spectrum of PR Ori B changes from a late K-type spectral type during quiescence to a viscously heated disk during outburst, including deep absorption in $^{12}$CO and H$_2$O bands. The optical spectrum also exhibits features that are commonly associated with FUors, including P Cygni profiles in Na I D lines and absorption in the Ca II infrared triplet. The luminosity of the outburst (L$_{acc}\sim$30—40 L$_\odot$) is similar to that commonly observed in FUors. The comparison of Spitzer/IRS and VLT/VISIR spectroscopy shows some evidence of silicate crystallisation during the outburst. PR Ori B is one of the closest and brightest FUors discovered over the last few years, only one magnitude fainter than the archetype of the class FU Ori. The proximity and brightness will allow for future high angular resolution observations to probe the physics of the inner disk and to evaluate changes in the disk due to the increased luminosity.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

Tim-Eric Rathjen, Jeffrey L. Linsky

The Local Bubble (LB) extends approximately 100—200~pc from the Sun and contains $10^6$~K plasma and warm photoionised gas. Yet the Local Leo Cold Cloud (LLCC) and the Local Ribbon of Cold Clouds lie only 11—24~pc away, well inside the LB, at temperatures near 20~K. How such cold material forms and survives in this hotter environment remains uncertain, and explanations based on colliding warm clouds are difficult to test observationally. We investigate whether LLCC-like gas can assemble locally in a feedback-driven environment or must be imported as pre-existing cold material, and whether it can survive for several Myr. We use magnetohydrodynamic simulations from the \textsc{SILCC} Project including self-consistent star formation, stellar winds and supernovae, ionising and far-ultraviolet radiation, non-equilibrium chemistry, and cosmic-ray transport. We identify cold diffuse gas with $T<100$~K and $0<n_\mathrm{H_2}\leq2$~cm$^{-3}$ and use Lagrangian tracers to reconstruct its assembly, cooling, survival, and dispersal. The simulations produce cold diffuse gas in warm—hot, feedback-driven surroundings, where non-thermal pressure support is crucial. Cosmic-ray pressure remains nearly continuous across cold-gas interfaces and establishes a pressure floor, while magnetic pressure partly offsets the external thermal-pressure excess. The structures persist in the cold diffuse phase for a median of 2.5~Myr, and most of their material remains cold after they lose spatial coherence. The gas can assemble locally from nearby cold and thermally unstable warm material, developing filamentary or sheet-like morphologies. Cooling to $\sim20$~K is driven not by adiabatic expansion but by non-adiabatic cooling. The LLCC therefore need not have entered the LB as an already-formed cold cloud. LLCC-like gas can instead assemble and cool non-adiabatically in situ.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 27 August 2026

Suziye He, Yuehui Ma, Xuepeng Chen, Hongchi Wang, Miaomiao Zhang, et al.

We present a statistical study of the hierarchical structure of molecular clouds in the second quadrant of the Galactic midplane (139.75 deg <= l <= 159.75 deg, -5.25 deg <= b <= 8.25 deg), based on high-sensitivity 12CO and 13CO J = 1-0 data from the Milky Way Imaging Scroll Painting survey. Using DBSCAN and a non-binary Dendrogram algorithm, we identify 2,912 13CO clouds. Type 2 (multicloud, single-tracer) scaling relations show arm-dependent trends: the power-law index of the linewidth-size relation is about 0.32 in the Local Arm and about 0.42 in the Perseus and Outer Arms. The classical Keto-Heyer relation is weak in the Local Arm but present in the Perseus and Outer Arms, with a slope of about 0.3. The virial parameter is anti-correlated with cloud size, mass, and surface density, consistent with previous surveys. Type 4 (single-cloud, single-tracer) scaling relations exhibit stronger internal correlations. The linewidth-size index spans about 0.3-0.8 and correlates positively with sonic Mach number, indicating that the relation is not universal but depends on cloud compressibility. While substructures do not follow the conventional surface-density-based Keto-Heyer relation, a volume-density formulation restores a clear virial scaling, with evolutionary tracks aligning along lines of constant virial parameter. Moreover, the structural complexity of molecular clouds, characterized by the relationship between the number of substructures and the min_delta parameter, correlates with surface density rather than sonic Mach number, contrary to results from turbulence-only magnetohydrodynamic simulations. Together, these results are more consistent with a gravity-regulated hierarchical dynamical picture than with a purely turbulence-supported scenario.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 20 September 2026

Maxwell Moe

The majority of very close binaries (orbital periods P < 5 days) are in triples. Previous studies surmised that the tertiary hardened the inner binary via Kozai-Lidov cycles coupled with tidal friction. Alternatively, the trend could be due to a common origin, e.g., more massive molecular cores and protostellar disks are more likely to fragment twice into a triple and harden the inner binary to very short periods via disk migration. Disk migration occurs during the embedded Class I protostellar phase while secular evolution with a tertiary occurs on much longer timescales. To determine the dominant migration mechanism, I accurately measure the very close binary fractions of both late-type and early-type primaries in star-forming environments. After combining five surveys, the late-type Class II/III T Tauri very close binary fraction is F_VCB = 2.1_{-0.5}^{+1.0}%, which is consistent with the measurement for late-type field main-sequence stars (1.7% +/- 0.1%). More than 85% of very close late-type binaries hardened via disk migration during the Class I protostellar phase. I next measure the OGLE-III eclipsing binary (EB) fractions of young massive stars in the LMC. The very close EB fractions of massive young stellar objects (YSOs; F_VCEB = 8.3_{-3.2}^{+4.9}%), OB stars near massive YSOs (4.7% +/- 0.8%), and OB stars in small, young H II regions (6.4% +/- 1.5%) are consistent with each other and the measurement for OB stars in slightly older clusters (4.7% +/- 0.3%). More than 90% of very close massive binaries hardened via disk migration during the embedded protostellar phase.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 31 August 2026

J. Ferrer Asensio, A. Fuente, E. Roueff, K. Furuya, B. Tercero, et al.

Symmetric molecules with identical nuclei form distinct nuclear spin isomers (ortho and para) that cannot interconvert via radiative or inelastic transitions, preserving clues about formation conditions. In the interstellar medium, cyclopropenylidene (c-C3H2) and its doubly-deuterated isotopologue (c-C3D2) provide a prime laboratory for studying these ratios. While measured for the main species, spin ratios for c-C3D2 remain unavailable. We present new detections of ortho and para transitions of c-C3D2 toward three Taurus molecular cloud sources from the GEMS Large program, and revisit four literature cores to investigate the para-to-ortho ratio of c-C3D2 for the first time. Column densities were computed using RADEX with dedicated collision rate coefficients, yielding total c-C3D2 column densities of (2.5-5.3) x 10e11 cm-2 for the new sources. The derived para-to-ortho ratios are 1.5(+0.7-0.6) (B213-C16-1), 1.3(+1.3-0.7) (TMC1-C), and 1.0(+1.4-0.7) (TMC1-NH3, statistical). For revisited sources L1544, TMC-1C, TMC-2, and L1517B, ratios are 0.4(+0.1-0.1), 0.5(+0.1-0.1), 0.6(+0.2-0.1), and 1.4(+0.7-0.5), respectively. Overall, four sources show statistical ratios and three show higher non-statistical values. This is the first observational determination of the para-to-ortho ratio in a doubly deuterated molecule using a detailed radiative transfer tool. The elevated ratios in some sources likely stem from p-D2H+ or D3+ driven reactions, and are independent of H2 and c-C3H2 ortho-to-para ratios. These findings offer an essential benchmark for chemical models investigating c-C3D2 formation pathways.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 21 September 2026

C. Bergez-Casalou, B. Tabone, Y. Aoyama, G. Herczeg, A. Caratti o Garatti, et al.

Studying the structure of very-low-mass stars ($M_\star<0.2M_\odot$) protoplanetary disk is crucial to understand the formation of Earth-like planets. In this paper, we characterize the innermost regions of the disk around a known very-low-mass star, 2MASS J16053215-1933159 (J1605 hereafter), by analyzing new JWST/NIRSpec observations taken in 2024, 2 years after a first observation with JWST/MIRI. We find that between the two epochs (2022 \& 2024), the CO flux is reduced by a factor $\sim 3$, the flux of the HI 10-6 line seen by both NIRSpec and MIRI is reduced by a factor $\sim13$, and the total continuum density flux is reduced by $\sim 15 \%$. The accretion rate derived from individual HI lines is consistent with a decrease of a factor $\sim13$ in 2 years. After correcting the spectrum from the CO absorption present in J1605 stellar photosphere, we find that the decrease of the disk's CO emission is consistent with a CO gas of same column density and temperature at each epoch, but originating from a smaller emitting area when the accretion rate is low. While warm hydrocarbons ($\simeq 500~$K) are detected with MIRI-MRS with extremely high column densities of $\rm C_2H_2$, no hydrocarbons features are seen with NIRSpec. We propose that non-LTE effects quench the near-IR emission of hydrocarbons in the warm reservoir. The variation of the accretion luminosity of J1605 correlates with the variation of its fundamental CO luminosity in a similar way as in T-Tauri stars, supporting the idea that very-low-mass stars could be seen as scaled-down versions of T-Tauri stars. The detection of the emission of the fundamental band of CO in disks around cold objects is challenging because of the presence of CO absorption in their photosphere. Future observations (e.g., with ELT/METIS) looking for such emission will require robust ways to constrain the photosphere emission.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 21 September 2026

Massimiliano Bolchini, Haochang Jiang, Jiaqing Bi

Observations with a high angular resolution by ALMA have revealed that substructures are ubiquitous in protoplanetary disks. Axisymmetric dust rings are the most common morphology. The profiles of some observed disks, including young disks, are smooth overall, with a localized dip or bump near the outer edge of the continuum disk that manifests as an edge ring. While embedded planets might contribute to these structures, their physical origin remains unclear. We investigated the possibility that these edge rings arise purely from radiative transfer effects at the outer edge of a protoplanetary disk. A steep surface density dust gradient at the outer edge of the disk allows stellar irradiation to penetrate more efficiently beyond the disk edge, producing a non-monotonic temperature profile characterized by a dip that is followed by a bump. We tested whether this non-monotonic temperature structure can generate and maintain a localized continuum enhancement. We coupled radiative transfer and dust evolution by iterating between the Monte Carlo radiative transfer code RADMC-3D and the dust evolution code DustPy. This framework self-consistently follows the coupled evolution of temperature, grain growth, and dust dynamics. Thermodynamic feedback at the disk edge can naturally generate and maintain localized dust enhancements resembling the edge rings that are observed in some extremely young disks. Without invoking planets or additional dynamical perturbations, this mechanism offers a plausible explanation for the first-generation ring formation. Our results highlight the importance of coupling thermodynamics and dust evolution when modeling protoplanetary disks, suggesting that thermodynamic feedback probably plays a role in shaping disk substructures.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 31 August 2026

Nienke van der Marel, Jochen Stadler, Andres F. Izquierdo, Ruobing Dong, Bertram Bitsch, et al.

The giant planet formation process in disks of gas and dust surrounding young stars is observationally still poorly constrained. Direct detection of protoplanets within the disk remains limited with current facilities. Indirect observational evidence of protoplanets through substructures or deviations from Keplerian rotation in the gas remains ambiguous in absence of detected planets. The lack of the combined detection of substructures and their corresponding planets makes it challenging to connect the planet formation process to the host environment. Observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) reveal clear detections of gas gaps and kinematic signatures in the WISPIT 2 protoplanetary disk that are cospatial with the locations of previously detected giant protoplanets. The newly identified gas gaps, observed in both the 12CO integrated intensity map and its rotation curve, correspond with the previously identified gaps in scattered light. Their morphologies are shown to be consistent with eccentric gaps, as expected from planet-disk interaction models of massive planets. The lack of eccentricity in the outer disk can be explained if a third planet is present in the system. The observations of WISPIT 2 provide a long-sought empirical bridge between kinematic signatures, gas gaps and giant planet formation in disks.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

Maite Wilhelm, Alessandro Alberto Trani, Simon Portegies Zwart

There has long been a tension between the stellar ages in the Orion Nebula Cluster and the rapid external photoevaporation of its protoplanetary discs. Recently, the shell of the Orion Nebula has similarly been found to be dynamically younger than the stars. We propose a new scenario to resolve both age problems. In our scenario the ONC's most massive star, $θ^1$~Ori~C1, formed from the merger between two binary stars induced by vZLK oscillations due to the present-day binary companion $θ^1$~Ori~C2. This merger, happening between the last episode of star formation and today, resulted in an increased luminosity, leading to stronger external photoevaporation and accelerated expansion of the shell. {We use Monte Carlo simulations to explore both whether a sudden brightening of $θ^1$~Ori~C1 could reconcile the stellar ages and shell expansion, and whether triple progenitors to $θ^1$~Ori~C\, could result in stellar mergers on the relevant timescale. A sudden brightening of $θ^1$~Ori~C1 a few hundred thousand years ago can reproduce today's shell while maintaining a system age close to the stellar age. However, the required increase in stellar wind luminosity is greater than a simple merger can explain. At lower luminosity, the mixing of a relatively greater amount of cool photoevaporative wind material into the hot bubble could result in the required increase, and we identify a lower limit on the required strength of this effect. Additionally, we find that progenitor triples merge readily, on timescales even shorter than the scenario would require. These mergers could be deferred by increased pre-main sequence tidal effects, rotation, and perturbing encounters with other cluster members. Our proposed scenario with a merger driven by von Zeipel-Lidov-Kozai evolution solves two problems; the Orion Nebula's proplyd problem and the shell lifetime problems.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

Yan Luo, Gregory J. Herczeg, Min Fang, Qinghui Sun, Xiaoting Fu

Star clusters with ages of a few Myr have a previously unexplained dispersion in the lithium equivalent widths. In this work, we show that much of the lithium spread of the young cluster NGC 2264 can be attributed to the observational presence of starspots. We demonstrate that the equivalent width of Li I 6708 Angstrom changes with observed spot coverage, using a sample of 15 Weak-Lined T Tauri Stars (WTTSs) with multi-epoch high-resolution ESPaDOnS spectra and photometry. To quantify the contribution of starspots, we construct an empirical two-component starspot model. When differences in visible spot coverage are taken into account, 68% of the WTTSs fall within the model-predicted EW(Li) dispersion for a range from 0-90% visible spot coverage. We find no correlation between the age spread or gravity and Li I equivalent width in NGC 2264. Our results suggest that invoking starspots can explain much of the apparent lithium spread in NGC 2264 and reduces but does not fully eliminate the need to invoke rotation-driven lithium depletion or other non-standard explanations at such young ages. Future simultaneous measurements of lithium and beryllium in young stars may provide an independent test of this scenario.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 17 September 2026

Konstantin Batygin, Fred C. Adams

Circumplanetary disks are open, dynamic systems sustained by a meridional circulation that draws gas and dust from the parent nebula along nearly polar streamlines, and ultimately returns some of this material through a viscously driven, in-plane outflow. In such a disk, the water ice line acts as a site of solid-mass accumulation: inward-drifting icy solids sublimate interior to the ice line, the resulting vapor is advected outward by the gas, and recondensation beyond the ice line resets the material to a small Stokes number. The operation of this drift-mediated loop requires the fragmentation-limited Stokes number of the mass-dominant icy aggregates to exceed the equilibrium Stokes number at which the radial drift of solids reverses. Because the former scales inversely with the Shakura-Sunyaev viscosity parameter $α$ while the latter is directly proportional to it, this requirement yields a compact upper bound on the vigor of turbulence in the satellite-forming region. Adopting an actively heated, steady-state circumjovian disk truncated at the tidal radius, we find a marginal bound of $α\lesssim 10^{-3}$ for an icy-particle fragmentation threshold of $v_f\simeq1\,{\rm m\,s^{-1}}$ - appropriate for cold ice with sticking properties similar to silicate dust. This bound scales linearly with $v_f$, reaching $α\lesssim5\times10^{-3}$ for more adhesive, warm ice ($v_f\simeq5\,{\rm m\,s^{-1}}$). The bound carries no explicit dependence on the disk's mass flux, and is set entirely by the local thermal state, pressure gradient, and geometry of the circumjovian nebula.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 31 August 2026

M. Kuffmeier, A. Winter, A. Kuznetsova, M. Vioque, A. Gupta

Disk fractions in star-forming clusters decline with stellar age, and are routinely read as the lifetime distribution of primordial protoplanetary disks. We argue that this reading is not warranted, because late infall can replenish or reform disks after collapse. To formalize this, we model the disk fraction as a superposition of primordial and environmentally replenished components, with region-to-region dispersion in the supply rate. Disk fractions cannot distinguish a long-lived disk from a short-lived one that is repeatedly replenished. In Sco—Cen both reproduce the data, the replenished model marginally better. Stellar age therefore need not equal disk age, and stars can host successive disk generations with distinct mass, orientation, and chemistry. A key test is whether regions of the same stellar age show a genuine spread in disk fractions, as environmental variation in the replenishment supply predicts.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Raffaele Gratton, Elisabetta Rigliaco

Disc evolution dictates the time for planet formation providing the raw material to build the planets' cores. Dynamical stellar masses derived from the kinematics of the gas in discs provide constraints on the ages of very young stars, offering a powerful approach to studying disc evolution and the epoch of giant-planet formation. We investigated a sample of 33 solar-type stars with bright protoplanetary discs and ages between 1 and 9\,Myr. We modeled the spectral energy distributions and ALMA dust continuum images simultaneously to constrain the stellar radius and effective temperature, accretion rate, disc dust mass, the radii of the inner and outer disc regions (roughly separated at the ice line), and the maximum grain size in the inner disc. Combining the stellar masses and radii with stellar evolutionary models, we derived individual stellar ages. We found that the accretion rate and the dust mass of the inner disc evolve with time. The dust mass of the inner disc correlates with the observed accretion rates for stars younger than 2\, Myr. A depletion of centimetre-sized grains in the inner disc is observed in more than half of the analysed stars with ages between 2 and 5\, Myr indicating the action of a mechanism that inhibits the inward drift of large grains, potentially associated with the progressive growth of giant-planet cores more massive than 30 \MEarth, although the exact mass threshold remains uncertain. In addition, three discs exhibiting strong asymmetries in their ALMA continuum emission are associated with stars with ages of $\sim$2\, Myr. The results provide observational indications of significant changes in the dust distribution during the epoch when giant planets may be forming.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Michael Connelley, Christian Flores, Bo Reipurth

The age of a young star is difficult to measure and yet is a fundamental property that is essential for understanding stellar evolution. Accurate age indicators across the early phases of low-mass stars are scarce and often rely on properties of the circumstellar environment. We investigate stellar surface gravity as a practical age estimator from the class I to the class III phases of low-mass stars. Gravity increases monotonically as young stars descend their Hayashi tracks. Gravity is a physical property of the central star and is independent of the circumstellar environment or evolutionary models. Also, gravity can be measured for individual objects. We performed two tests for the reliability of gravity as an age indicator: (1) the relative ages of the components of young binary stars and (2) the relative ages of a young moving group. We show that young binary stars have consistent gravities, as expected, if they are coeval. Similarly, we find similar gravities among the TW Hya group and derive a median age of 12.8 +/- 1.2 Myr. In both cases, differences in gravities may reflect real differences in the ages. We show that there is no correlation between veiling emission and gravity, showing that circumstellar disk emission does not affect our ability to infer ages from measurements of photospheric stellar gravity.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 14 September 2026

Junjie Huang, Yangjun Pu, Keping Qiu, Junhao Liu, Yingxi Li, et al.

Turbulence plays a crucial role in regulating star formation activities within molecular clouds, yet few methods can directly reveal its properties and underlying processes. We use molecular line data from the Nobeyama 45m Cygnus X CO Survey to study the turbulence properties and their relationships with star-forming activities and/or other non-thermal motions. In this work, we apply the multi-point velocity dispersion function (VDF), rather than direct linewidth measurements, to investigate the non-thermal properties of molecular cloud motions. We filter out the large-scale ordered structure and isolate a relatively small-scale turbulence component. Through the Friends In Velocity (FIVe) algorithm, we identify 10 substructures of the clouds and derive the turbulent properties of each cloud using the VDF method. We find that both the cloud-complex regions and the 10 velocity substructures exhibit turbulence correlation lengths of $\sim 2$—5 pc. This plateau scale suggests a parsec-scale turbulence correlation or driving scale in Cygnus X. Below this scale, the rising VDFs trace the velocity scaling of the turbulent cascade, whereas larger-scale VDF variations likely reflect cloud-scale motions. The comparison between cloud complexes and substructures further suggests that, in observational data, the VDF may constrain the turbulence correlation scale more robustly than the turbulence velocity dispersion.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

Vineet Rawat, Thiem Hoang, Patricio Sanhueza, Ian W. Stephens, Manuel Fernández López, et al.

Intense radiation from high-mass stars is expected to significantly affect dust grain alignment and evolution through RAdiative Torques (RATs). We investigate this effect in a massive star-forming region, NGC6334I, using 1.2 mm dust continuum polarization observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. The polarization fraction spans from $\lesssim1\%$ to $\sim10\%$ and decreases with increasing column density, remaining below $2\%$ in dense cores despite high temperatures ($\sim100$ K), where efficient grain alignment by RATs is expected. We investigate how grain alignment, grain growth, grain disruption, B-field tangling, and local physical conditions affect the polarization properties of MM1, MM2, MM3, and their surroundings. Polarization angle dispersion shows that B-field tangling contributes to depolarization at moderate densities but cannot fully explain the lowest polarization fractions. Using RAT-based grain alignment and polarization modeling, we find that reduced alignment efficiency and high optical depth reproduce the low polarization in the densest regions. MM2 shows evidence of grain growth, with maximum grain sizes $a_{\max}\sim0.35-1.0~μ$m, while MM1 exhibits smaller values of $\sim0.35-0.50~μ$m. Accounting for optical depth increases the inferred grain sizes in MM1 to $\sim1.0-2.0~μ$m. Analytical estimates of radiative torque disruption from the intense outburst suggest that micron-sized grains in high-temperature, moderate-density regions can fragment into submicron grains. Alternatively, high optical depth may also explain the low polarization in the densest regions even in the presence of micron-sized grains. Incorporating the B-field inclination effect indicates a transition from predominantly plane-of-sky fields at low densities to more line-of-sight-aligned configurations at high densities.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 3 September 2026

J. D. Soler, H. Beuther, S. C. O. Glover, R. S. Klessen, J. Ott, et al.

The Orion Nebula is the nearest site of ongoing and recent high-mass star formation. It is a unique laboratory for studying the mass, energy, and momentum input from high-mass stars. We present 21-centimeter emission line observations that resolve for the first time the neutral atomic hydrogen (HI) gas in the extended Orion nebula (EON) at a resolution of one arcminute, which corresponds to a physical scale of 0.12 parsecs at the standard distance to the region. Our HI emission maps reveal an expanding shell that matches the EON contours delineated by recent observations of ionized carbon ([CII]) line emission. However, our combination of single-dish and interferometric HI observations suggests 100 solar masses of material for the front hemisphere of the shell, which is lower by roughly a factor of ten than the mass inferred from [CII] observations. This discrepancy suggests that the mass of the nearest wind-blown bubble has been overestimated, although we do not rule out the possibility that a significant amount of molecular hydrogen (H_2) in the shell may account for part of the difference. Our extended 21 cm line maps also reveal uncharted structures in and around the EON. They include a probable secondary bubble and a linear protrusion extending roughly four parsecs from the shell boundary. Our results illustrate the potential of HI interferometric observations to elucidate key aspects of the multiphase structure of star-forming regions and their connection to their surroundings.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 2 September 2026

Khushboo K. Rao, Wen-Ping Chen, Hsiang-Yu Chen, Kristen Dage, Stella S. R. Offner

Intermediate-mass (about 1.5-8 M$_{\odot}$) stars exhibit a wide range of rotation rates and have gained attention for their roles in the extended main-sequence turnoffs (eMSTO) seen in some young and intermediate-age clusters (ages $< 2$ Gyr). Although rapid rotation is expected due to their radiative envelopes, the presence of slow rotators remains puzzling. In this study, we examine disk and X-ray signatures among the intermediate-mass members of the star-forming cluster Trumpler 14. Of the 118 intermediate-mass members, 24 are considered disk-bearing on the basis of their infrared spectral indices derived from spectral energy distributions. The majority of these reside outside the heavily irradiated cluster core and are all slow rotators ($\lessapprox 100$ km s$^{-1}$) except for three fast-rotating Class III objects. Additionally, in the same sample of 118, 37 are X-ray sources, and 22 having available $v \sin i$ data show a systematically slower rotation than X-ray quiet sources. Our findings suggest that, while young stellar disks in intermediate-mass stars contribute to early spin-down, high-energy processes traced by X-ray emission during this phase could be an additional channel for angular-momentum loss in these stars.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 10 September 2026

Chunhua Qi, Takahiro Ueda, David J. Wilner, Catherine C. Espaillat

CO isotopologue emission is widely used to infer gas masses and volatile carbon abundances in protoplanetary disks, but converting line emission into a CO column depends on optical depth, temperature structure, linewidth, and isotope ratios. Inferring CO/H$_2$ additionally requires an independent constraint on the local hydrogen column. We use high-resolution $^{13}$C$^{18}$O $2$-$1$ observations of HD 163296 to derive a spatially localized empirical constraint on the CO column at the resolved CO snowline edge. We focus on the 70-75 au annulus, on the inner, high-column side of the observed profile steepening near 75 au. Using RADEX slab calculations conditioned on a two-dimensional temperature structure, we infer an effective beam-averaged CO column from the absolute integrated intensity. Across representative temperatures, isotope-ratio pairs, and effective local linewidths of 0.30 and 0.50 km s$^{-1}$, we find $N_{\rm CO}^{\rm beam}=(1.6-2.4)\times10^{20}$ cm$^{-2}$ and $^{13}$C$^{18}$O line-center optical depths $τ=0.39-0.97$. Thus, even this rare isotopologue is not safely optically thin at the snowline edge. Adopting $N_{\rm H2}=2.5\times10^{24}$ cm$^{-2}$ from a published parametric gas surface-density profile gives the conditional abundance ${\rm CO/H_2}=(6.4-9.5)\times10^{-5}$. A beam-forward radial-profile analysis gives consistent columns, and a physical disk model with a near-canonical warm-layer CO abundance supplies a comparable CO column. The measurement is consistent with the higher C$^{17}$O-based MAPS estimate. For the adopted hydrogen column, the inferred CO/H$_2$ ratio is consistent with a near-canonical abundance on the warm side of the snowline.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 31 August 2026

Rajika L. Kuruwita

In 1936, the protostar FU Orionis began to brighten. Two years later, it was 100 times brighter and has not dimmed since. This object defined the class of FUor-type accretion bursts in protostars. Previous attempts to model FUors simulate isolated protostellar discs, thereby limiting the mass available to drive the burst and shortening its duration. However, these protostars are embedded within the interstellar medium, from which they actively accrete via accretion streamers. This work seeks the origin of FUors starting at interstellar medium scales. An unbiased search of star particles from a 25AU resolution star cluster formation simulation was performed to find FUor candidates. Most candidates were low-mass secondary stars in highly eccentric binaries, like FU Orionis. Zoom-in simulations down to 0.79AU resolution found candidates experience dramatic accretion suppression and bursts at the closest binary separation at periastron. Approaching periastron, the candidate's orbital speed becomes supersonic striping away nearby gas. After periastron, the orbital speed decreases allowing gas to accrete onto the candidate rapidly via Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton (BHL) accretion. BHL accretion tails form behind the candidate and appear as accretion streamers. This dramatic suppression and burst near periastron is a physical mechanism for strong variable accretion in embedded young eccentric binaries. This mechanism also implies that FU Orionis returned to its former accretion rate.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 20 September 2026

Linhan Yang, Ya-Ping Li, Ruobing Dong, Yinhao Wu, Hauyu Baobab Liu, et al.

Spatially resolved dust rings in protoplanetary disks are widely used to infer disk and dust physics from multi-wavelength continuum observations. Their interpretation, however, often neglects grain growth and the evolution of the size distribution, limiting the connection between observed ring profiles and dust-evolution parameters. Building on a physical dust-ring model that includes coagulation and fragmentation, we develop a Bayesian inference framework that jointly incorporates radiative transfer and finite angular resolution. When applied to two rings in HD 163296 and two in LkCa 15, our framework yields gas-dependent estimates of the key dust-evolution parameters such as turbulence strength $α$ and the fragmentation velocity $v_{\rm frag}$ in a self-consistent way. Most rings admit both a low-$α$, low-$v_{\rm frag}$ branch with small grains, and a higher-$α$, higher-$v_{\rm frag}$ branch with larger grains. Typical low-$α$ branches have $α\sim10^{-5}$—$10^{-4}$ and fragmentation velocities of order cm s$^{-1}$ level, whereas the higher-$α$ branches reach $α\sim10^{-3}$—$10^{-2}$ and fragmentation velocities of a few to $20$ m s$^{-1}$. The observed broad and wavelength-dependent profiles near the ring peaks can be reproduced by intrinsically narrow dust rings. This new framework offers a more direct route from multi-wavelength continuum data to the microphysics of dust growth and trapping—-a connection that can be robustly tested with future high-resolution observations at longer wavelengths.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 15 September 2026

Silvia Protopapa, Michael S. P. Kelley, Martin A. Cordiner, Stefanie N. Milam, Dennis Bodewits, et al.

We present JWST/NIRSpec PRISM observations of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS obtained on 2025 August 6 (Epoch 1), 2025 December 22 (Epoch 2), and 2026 April 1 (Epoch 3), spanning eight months around perihelion at heliocentric distances of 3.3, 2.4, and 5.7 au, respectively. The spectra reveal a broad 3 $μ$m absorption band together with H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and CO gas emission. Unlike previously reported water-ice-rich Solar System comae, the strong 3 $μ$m absorption is accompanied by weak or absent 1.5 and 2.0 $μ$m water-ice bands. Spectral modeling indicates that the observations are best reproduced by submicron- to micron-sized water-ice-bearing aggregates containing refractory material. Compared with Epoch 1, the Epoch 3 spectrum favors the presence of a second population of larger, micron-sized, ice-rich aggregates and exhibits a subtle Fresnel-like structure near 3.1 $μ$m, consistent with crystalline water ice. The observations can be explained by either crystalline water ice at both epochs, with the spectral evolution arising primarily from changes in grain size and refractory mixing, or an evolution from an amorphous-like to crystalline state. The spectral properties of 3I bridge those of water-ice-bearing Solar System comae and several spectral classes of mid-sized trans-Neptunian objects, suggesting that the icy building blocks of planetesimals formed in different protoplanetary disks may span a continuum in the physical state of water ice, ranging from pure ice grains to water-ice-bearing aggregates with varying refractory content at submicron-to-micron scales, with 3I extending toward the refractory-rich end of this continuum.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 16 September 2026

G. C. MacLeod, A. Caratti o Garatti, W. A. Baan, D. P. Smits, T. R. Hunter, et al.

Ten years on, flaring continues in masers associated with NGC 6334I-MM1. Methanol and hydroxyl masers are nearing quiescent values, but water features remain elevated. Several more 1.665 GHz hydroxyl masers, notably, that flared during the accretion event in NGC 6334I-MM1, are identified and presented. Some hydroxyl masers appear to have been active prior to the 2015 event. Possible explanations are discussed. The radial infrared expansion speed during the accretion event is estimated to be ~1.8 AU/d. However, the expansion speed along the North-South outflow is about ten times faster (~18 AU/d). The maser flaring activity illuminated clumpy structure in NGC 6334I-MM1. Quasi-periodicity is reported after the 2015 accretion event in the total integrated 12.2 GHz methanol emission, predominantly in $v_{12.2}=[-12.0,-9.9]$ \kms, after the accretion event in NGC 6334I-MM1. It is not certain if the periodic masers are located in NGC 6334I-MM1, -MM2, or -MM3. The magnetic field, measured from the Zeeman splitting of two ground state hydroxyl lines, undergoes changes before and after the flare.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 17 September 2026

Jennifer Wallace, Cara Battersby, Nazar Budaiev, H Perry Hatchfield, Ashley T. Barnes, et al.

The Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) resides in the inner few hundred parsecs of our Galaxy, and despite being the largest reservoir of dense molecular gas in the Milky Way, it has a relatively low present-day star formation rate (SFR) of $\sim0.08~M_{\odot}~\text{yr}^{-1}$. Continuum and spectral line observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) CMZ Exploration Survey (ACES) provide the first full-coverage, high-resolution map of the inner 200 parsecs of the CMZ at 3 mm. In this paper we present the ACES catalog of compact continuum sources, the most complete catalog of potential sites of star formation in the CMZ to date. Using an automated dendrogram-based source extraction procedure in combination with a by-eye morphological classification scheme, we produce a `full' catalog of 1735 detections in total. Additionally, we use spectral index measurements to generate a `filtered' catalog of 567 sources with minimal contamination from non-thermal filaments and extended free-free emission. We find that 359 ($\sim63\%$) of the filtered catalog sources are located at column densities $< 10^{23}$ cm$^{-2}$, outside of the densest molecular cloud regions, 195 of which have not been identified in previous surveys. After cross-referencing with various catalogs generated from data at different wavelengths, we consider it likely that many of these newly discovered detections are produced by pre/protostellar sources or compact HII regions.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 31 August 2026

Yuhiko Aoyama, Jun Hashimoto, Gabriel-Dominique Marleau, Carlo F. Manara, Juan Manuel Alcalá, et al.

Hydrogen lines are widely used as tracers of stellar and planetary accretion. In classical T~Tauri stars, hydrogen lines are usually interpreted as arising from magnetospheric accretion columns, whereas in lower-mass counterparts (subsolar-mass objects including brown dwarfs and gas giant planets), the post-accretion-shock region can directly emit a substantial fraction of the hydrogen-line luminosity. However, the boundary between non-shock-dominated and shock-dominated cases has remained unclear. In this study, we compare hydrogen-line profiles predicted by the shock emission model with 254 observations of 164 low-mass accreting objects ($\lesssim 0.5\,M_\odot$) in the VLT/X-Shooter archive. We simultaneously fit seven hydrogen lines (H$β$, H$γ$, H6, H8, H9, Pa$β$, and Br$γ$), testing both line profiles and flux ratios within a single framework, and introduce a phenomenological broad-component-subtracted fit for cases with mixed non-shock and shock contributions. We find that shock emission dominates the hydrogen-line emission at object masses $M\lesssim0.05\,M_\odot$ or free-fall velocities $v_\mathrm{ff}<175\,\mathrm{km\,s^{-1}}$, but becomes minor at $M \gtrsim 0.2\,M_\odot$. The inferred flow velocities at the shock front are often significantly smaller than the free-fall velocity from infinity, implying smaller truncation radii and surface dipole magnetic field strengths of sub-kG. The accretion luminosities inferred from the shock-emission fitting are systematically larger than literature values, often by orders of magnitude, likely because conventional estimates neglect line emission that is non-negligible in low-mass objects. We also confirm that H$α$ is more susceptible than the other hydrogen lines to additional non-shock components.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 20 September 2026

A. Giannetti, T. Pillai, J. Kauffmann, A. Palau, E. Vazquez-Semadeni, et al.

Our study of the early stages of fragmentation in massive clumps has revealed a striking anomaly: $\sim15\%$ of the CoCoA sample exhibit no fragmentation at all. These sources could represent the initial conditions before core formation. We investigate whether these sources are indeed at the onset of core formation, and whether gravity or turbulence dominates their early fragmentation. We study the transition from uniform gas to active cluster formation, and compare contrasting predictions of turbulence- and gravity-dominated models of clump fragmentation through ALMA observations of three massive clumps spanning this phase. The fragmented source exhibits higher average $n$(H$_2$) and a core-to-envelope density contrast 5-6 times larger than the minimally fragmented sources. All sources display pc-scale velocity differences comparable to their linewidths and gravitational velocities. This suggests that the linewidth is dominated by the large-scale motions, and that the latter are driven by gravity. The high CH$_3$OH abundances and the mass build-up timescales align with astrochemical models where complex molecules form at intermediate densities before the appearance of cores. All independent diagnostics in our analysis are consistent with the minimally fragmented clumps being an early evolutionary phase, potentially marking the onset of core fragmentation. If turbulence were the primary driver of fragmentation, sources with comparable Mach numbers should exhibit similar structural properties. Instead, we observe significant variations in density contrast and fragmentation. These findings challenge turbulence-supported models and lend support to hierarchical, gravity-driven models of clump fragmentation, where large-scale ordered motions account for a significant fraction of the observed linewidths and drive the evolution of the clump toward increasingly dense and fragmented states.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 September 2026

I. M. Skretas, A. Karska, F. Wyrowski, H. Beuther, W. -J. Kim, et al.

Star formation takes place in varied environments, from isolated clumps to massive molecular cloud complexes. However, whether the environment in which a star forms has any effect on the formation process remains a matter of debate. The molecular outflows, launched during the formation of protostars present a more easily accessible way to study star formation in different environments. The DR21 ridge, in the Cygnus-X high-mass star-forming complex, hosts a high number of massive dense cores and embedded protostars with outflows. We aim to identify molecular outflows associated with dense molecular cores along the DR21 ridge, and investigate whether the extended environment impacts the formation process of stars within it. We identified molecular outflows along the DR21 ridge using HCO+ J=1-0, H13CO+ J=1-0, and SiO J=2-1 observations obtained with the IRAM 30m telescope and NOEMA as part of the CASCADE program. We calculated outflow properties and performed statistical comparisons between the DR21 ridge sources and a literature sample of low- to high-mass outflow sources. Based on the morphology of HCO+, H13CO+ and SiO, we identify molecular outflows in 14 out of 34 dense cores (41%) along the DR21 ridge. Despite the high density of star formation in DR21, the resulting outflow properties are found to be in good agreement with the established correlations between outflow and source properties. Little variation is seen in the outflow properties of sources along the ridge, with the exception of sources located at the intersection of the DR21 ridge with large-scale (~1 pc) accretion filaments. These sources are found to drive the most powerful outflows. Overall, our results indicate that protostellar outflow properties, even when driven by sources forming in an extreme and clustered region, such as the DR21 ridge, remain largely unaffected.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 August 2026

Arianna Vasini, Mattia C. Sormani, Jason L. Sanders, Adam Ginsburg, Cara Battersby, et al.

The 3D distribution of dust and gas in the Milky Way's Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) is key to understanding gas inflows toward the Galactic Centre (GC), the process of star formation in this extreme environment, and the propagation of energetic cosmic rays originating from Sgr A*. However, while recent efforts have combined datasets in a Bayesian framework to estimate the near/far positions of individual molecular clouds in the CMZ, conflicts between different methodologies still remain and we are still lacking a comprehensive, model-independent map of all of the gas and dust in the CMZ, which is critical to address key science questions. Here we develop a new methodology to infer the 3D dust distribution of the CMZ. The key idea of the method is to use \emph{stellar} proper motions to get probabilistic information about the unknown stellar distances through a model of the distribution of star positions and velocities of the nuclear stellar disc (NSD), co-spatial to the CMZ. Taking \emph{stellar} proper motions and extinctions as input, the latter adopted as a proxy of the dust column density, the method returns the 3D dust distribution. It is non parametric, makes no a-priori assumption on the dust distribution, and is fundamentally distinct and largely independent of all existing methods. We show that the method can robustly and effectively reconstruct the mock 3D CMZ structure by testing it on a range of mock dust distributions, both analytically generated and taken from hydrodynamical simulations. Finally, we discuss the prospects for applying the method to real data.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

Clément Baruteau, Steven Rendon Restrepo, Gaylor Wafflard-Fernandez, Sebastián Pérez, Zhaohuan Zhu, et al.

Substructures appear to be a common trait of all extended protoplanetary discs. They are found notably in discs still surrounded by ambient, possibly infalling material. In this study, we revisit the observational signatures of gravitational instability (GI) in the dust and gas emission of protoplanetary discs. We focus on discs undergoing a short-lived episode of late infall that triggers spirals via GI, in order to investigate the long-term dynamics of millimetre-sized dust. We performed 2D hydrodynamical simulations modelling gas and millimetre-sized dust in a self-gravitating disc, with a simplified treatment of stellar irradiation and infall. Results were post-processed by 3D radiative transfer calculations. During infall, GI sets in and the disc develops a gravitoturbulent state characterised by the continuous formation of spirals. Shortly after infall ends, the millimetre-sized dust remains well coupled to the gas, and the dust emission exhibits large-scale spirals in both near-infrared scattered light and continuum emission. Even long after infall has ceased, two-armed spirals are persistently excited by GI in specific regions of the disc. Their dissipation entails the formation of multiple long-lasting pressure maxima, which can be viewed as vestiges of shocks induced by the spirals. They form persistent dust rings that are more or less axisymmetrical. Consequently, once late infall ends, a massive disc can gradually evolve from a disc with spirals in the continuum into one featuring multiple, potentially lopsided bright rings in the continuum. In near-infrared scattered light, the disc initially displays multiple spirals during infall or shortly after it ceases, before ultimately exhibiting multiple rings. The persistent excitation of spirals implies, however, that the residual line-of-sight velocity, derived from line emission, shows large-scale spirals across the disc.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

Cristiano Longarini, Giuseppe Lodato

During the earliest phases of star and planet formation, a young star is surrounded by a disc that can become gravitationally unstable. Indeed, if the protoplanetary disc is sufficiently massive, its self-gravity triggers the formation of large scale spiral arms, transporting angular momentum, trapping solid particles and, potentially, collapsing to form sub-stellar companions. In this paper, we review the theoretical and observational advances in the study of gravitational instability in protoplanetary discs over the last 10 years, since the advent of ALMA. These developments have transformed our understanding of gravitational instability, moving beyond its historical role as a theoretical mechanism for giant planet formation toward a physically rich framework that can be directly tested against high-resolution observations.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

C. Sanna, S. Leurini, A. Giannetti, E. Schisano, L. Testi, et al.

Observing the earliest stages of high-mass star formation in the mid-infrared (mid-IR) is challenging because the extinction is high and the resolution limited. Millimeter vibrationally and torsionally excited transitions of several molecules have been proposed as indirect probes of local mid-IR radiation fields around young stellar objects (YSOs). We investigate the excitation and spatial distribution of torsionally excited methanol ($\mathrm{CH_3OH}$) in 12 high-mass star-forming clumps in different evolutionary stages, assessing their potential as tracers of the mid-IR luminosity of embedded protostars. We analyzed rotational transitions of methanol within the same torsionally excited states $v_\mathrm{t}\geq$1 in the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 890 $\mathrm{μm}$ observations and compared them with Spitzer 24 $\mathrm{μm}$ data by plotting line luminosities normalized by methanol abundance against mid-IR luminosities. The torsionally excited methanol emission is generally compact and systematically coincident with ALMA dust continuum peaks and 24 $\mathrm{μm}$ emission, even in faint sources. The only clump without an IR counterpart also shows no $v_\mathrm{t}\geq$1 emission, supporting radiative pumping as the dominant excitation mechanism. We found a promising power-law trend between $v_\mathrm{t}\geq$1 methanol lines and 24 $\mathrm{μm}$ luminosities, largely independent of the methanol abundance. $\mathrm{CH_3OH}$ $v_\mathrm{t}\geq$1 transitions appear to be promising tracers of local mid-IR radiation fields of embedded protostars, providing core-scale information even in highly extincted regions. As a pilot study, our results suggest that extending our study to a larger statistical sample is crucial for testing and improving this method.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

Sean J. Gunderson, Walter W. Golay, Jackson Codd, David P. Huenemoerder, Felipe Navarete, et al.

We present a multiwavelength analysis of the star $ρ$ Oph C, covering X-ray, optical, near-infrared, and radio observations to test for the presence of interferometrically-detected cool star companions. The X-ray observations from Chandra, XMM-Newton, and NuSTAR show flare-like events lasting minutes or days in time and spectral properties consistent with those of cooler stars instead of the primary magnetic B star. The near-infrared data is also consistent with the proposed trinary system properties due to the presence of CO-band heads. After removing the primary B star's rotation, the optical data from TESS shows a residual signal at the level of 0.8 mmags, matching the variations expected from cool stars in orbit around a bright B star. Finally, multi-epoch radio data reveals that $ρ$ Oph C exhibits significant large scale flux variations that are atypical for a magnetic massive star. Taken as a whole, the multi-epoch and -wavelength data presents a consistent picture of $ρ$\,Oph\,C as a rare trinary system composed of a hot star and two cool stars.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 24 September 2026

Guimei Liu, João Alves, Yu Zhang, Emily L. Hunt, Ruqiu Lin, et al.

Galactic open clusters provide a record of both hierarchical star formation and the subsequent dynamical evolution of the Milky Way disk. We use the two-point correlation function to characterize the spatial and kinematic clustering of open clusters in the solar neighborhood, considering their three-dimensional (3D) distributions and their projections onto the Galactic plane, as well as subsamples divided by age, mass, and survey volume. We quantify the clustering through fractal dimensions and characteristic correlation scales. We find that the youngest clusters have fractal dimensions comparable to those measured in the interstellar medium, suggesting that they retain part of the hierarchical structure of their natal molecular clouds. The clustering strength then decreases systematically with age and becomes weak on a characteristic timescale of order 100 Myr. This evolution is scale dependent: the excess correlation at tens of parsecs fades more rapidly than the weaker correlation at hundreds of parsecs. By contrast, we find only a weak dependence of the clustering properties on cluster mass and volume. Using the same cluster sample, we derive an empirical mapping between projected and 3D fractal dimensions, providing an observational calibration for comparing the Milky Way with studies of external galaxies, where only projected measurements are available. The open-cluster population exhibits characteristic spatial and kinematic clustering scales of approximately 370 pc and 11 km/s, respectively. These results support a picture in which young open clusters inherit a spatial hierarchy from star formation and progressively lose their spatial correlations through subsequent evolution.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

Hayato Uchimura, Yoshiaki Misugi, Daisuke Takaishi, Taishi Tsuchiyama, Tomoki Tokunaga, et al.

Studies of dust growth in molecular clouds often prescribe the collapse history, leaving unclear how magnetic regulation of core formation shapes dust evolution and its observable and non-ideal MHD signatures. We address this problem by performing one-zone dust evolution and ionization calculations along time-dependent density and magnetic-field histories extracted from three-dimensional non-ideal MHD simulations of core formation through filament fragmentation. A stronger initial magnetic field delays contraction and thereby gives dust grains more time to grow at a given density. In our models, this delayed contraction leads to mass-weighted mean dust sizes of $1.2\,μ\mathrm{m}$ and $3.1\,μ\mathrm{m}$ at $n_{\mathrm{H}}=10^6\,\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$ for $B_{\mathrm{ini}}=20$ and $50\,μ\mathrm{G}$, respectively. The associated depletion of very small dust grains reduces the adsorption of charged particles onto dust grain surfaces and lowers the conductivity: relative to models without dust growth, the ionization fraction increases from $\sim10^{-9}$ to $\sim10^{-8}$, the ambipolar resistivity increases, and the ion—neutral drift velocity rises to several $\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ in the weak-magnetic-field model and approximately $10\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$ in the strong-magnetic-field model. These drift velocities remain below the observationally suggested range of $30$—$100\,\mathrm{m\,s^{-1}}$, indicating that still stronger magnetic fields may be required. The evolved dust populations also attain single-scattering albedos of order $ω_λ\sim0.8$ at $3.6$—$4.5\,μ\mathrm{m}$, with the stronger field shifting the onset of efficient infrared scattering toward lower densities. These results demonstrate that the magnetically controlled collapse timescale, rather than density alone, links dust growth to ionization, ambipolar diffusion, and infrared scattering in prestellar cores.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 19 September 2026

E. Redaelli, S. Spezzano, P. Caselli, J. Harju, D. Arzoumanian, et al.

Context. Prestellar cores are the birthplace of stars and planetary systems, but they are short-lived objects, since the initial stages of dense core evolution, collapse, and the formation of a protostellar seed are fast. In an effort to build a catalogue of bona-fide prestellar cores in the Solar neighbourhood, we used APEX observations to identify dynamically evolved cores among dense cores observed with Herschel. One of them, Corona Australis 151, stood out because of its centrally peaked structure, with densities above 1e7cm-3 in the central 500-1000 au, and high deuteration levels (N2D+/N2H+~0.5), suggestive of an evolved, prestellar stage. Aims. Corona Australis 151 appears to be an evolved prestellar core, but the presence of broad wings in some of the detected lines and a tentative 70micron detection with Herschel partially challenges its prestellar stage. We intend to assess its evolutionary stage. Methods. We analyse new ALMA data of the continuum emission and of several line tracers (including typical outflow tracers) at a resolution of~150-200au, tracing the envelope. Results. We unveil the presence of a compact and young outflow (projected dynamical age:~500yr), traced by SiO, CO, and H2CO emission. The continuum emission traces an envelope structure of size~1000 au and mass 0.33M_sun(assuming Tdust=20 K). Conclusions. Corona Australis 151 is an extremely young protostar, possibly one of the youngest known in the Solar neighbourhood, and hence a new laboratory to study the chemical and dynamical evolution at the dawn of star formation.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 4 September 2026

Yang Ni, Hongping Deng, Xue-Ning Bai

In the first paper of this series, we showed that gravitational instability (GI) in protoplanetary disks can produce fragments of planetary rather than brown-dwarf mass, leaving the subsequent evolution and ultimate fates of such fragments an open question. Here, we follow every bound object in a global three-dimensional radiation hydrodynamic simulation of a fragmenting $0.196\,M_\odot$ disk around a $1\,M_\odot$ star: seven surviving fragments, one disrupted clump, and one merged clump, followed for $1.2$\,kyr. The fragments form at $1.4$—$3.0\,M_\mathrm{J}$, consistent with the normalized initial-mass distribution of Paper~I. Mass growth follows a single Hill-limited scaling $\propto ΣΩR_\mathrm{H}^2$, regulated by the delivery of gas into draining feeding zones, while the latest-forming fragments experience supply starvation. Migration is bidirectional and governed by gravitational interactions with both the disk and neighboring clumps. Accretion supplies most of the fragments' spin, which aligns with their orbits and provides roughly a tenth of the support against gravity. The interiors are entropy-stratified, largely convectively stable, and accumulate mass far faster than they can radiatively cool: compression is quasi-adiabatic, and central entropies near $12\,k_\mathrm{B}$ per baryon favor hot-start initial conditions for fragments that evolve into gas giants. Integrating the measured growth law against the measured gas budget, we predict that the disk produces gas giants, brown dwarfs, and a possible low-mass stellar companion, while one scattered fragment may become a free-floating planet: the outcome of disk fragmentation is determined not merely at birth, but by the subsequent mass supply and dynamics.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

Hanga Andras-Letanovszky, Yancy L. Shirley, Lucille J. Steffes, Brian Svoboda, Hannah Gruber, et al.

The deuterium fractionation of molecules in starless cores is sensitive to their dynamical histories, which recent magnetohydrodynamical simulations have shown to be extremely varied. The deuterated isotopologues of formaldehyde (H$_2$CO) and methanol (CH$_3$OH) probe deuterium fractionation in simple organic molecules. This complete survey targets 11 low-mass starless cores in the small, quiescent Barnard 10 (B10) region of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. The cores were observed using the 12m Arizona Radio Observatory telescope with a 100% detection rate in transitions of o/pH$_2$CO, HDCO, pD$_2$CO, A/E-CH$_3$OH, and CH$_2$DOH and the dense gas tracer N$_2$H$^+$. The HDCO and pD$_2$CO column densities and deuterium fractions are not correlated with those of the grain-surface deuteration tracer CH$_2$DOH, indicating significant gas-phase formation of deuterated formaldehyde. The observed deuterium fractions do not correlate with evolutionary indicators (e.g. core central density) or physical conditions (e.g. core mass). We also find that cores within the northwestern filament have lower deuterium fractions than cores of similar densities in the other two filaments. These could indicate differential core evolution both between and within entire filaments. Comparing the deuterium fractions of the B10 sample to published sources across different evolutionary stages suggests the inheritance of D$_2$CO from starless cores, although more surveys of organic deuteration are needed to conclusively determine inheritance.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 11 August 2026

D. Navarro-Almaida, B. Commerçon, U. Lebreuilly, P. Hennebelle, A. Ahmad, et al.

Magnetohydrodynamical simulations and interferometric observations toward young stellar objects reveal the accretion of gas that may alter the physical properties and chemical composition of protostellar disks. Our goal is to constrain the physical history and properties of late infalling gas, and assess its potential to change the physical and chemical properties of the disk. We carried out a core collapse simulation of 5 M$_{\odot}$ of gas endowed with tracer and sink particles during $\sim 3.6\times 10^{5}$ yr. We analyzed the properties of the rotationally supported disk, and the origin and physical history of the gas from which it is initially formed. We also selected the tracer particles that describe the late infall to analyze their origin and physical history, and compare them to the information obtained from the disk. The final mass of the sink reaches 1.02 M$_\odot$, while the mass of the disk stays fairly constant around 0.02 M$_\odot$. Throughout its evolution, the disk radius increases up to $\sim 40$ au and its density is reduced by a factor of $\sim 8$. Filaments that channel gas from the envelope to the disk and sink appear as a result of the magnetic interchange instability. Tracer particles can identify late infalling gas, whose physical properties resemble that of observed streamers and are only accreted in the final snapshots of the simulation. The origin and physical history of the late infalling gas are different from those of the gas that initially forms the disk. Core collapse simulations predict the appearance of filaments that connect the envelope to the disk. The late accretion of gas through these channels has properties similar to those of streamers and brings gas to the disk with a different physical history that could translate into a different chemical composition.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

Eric G. M. Muller, Naomi M. McClure-Griffiths, Hiep Nguyen, Matthew J. Alger, Frances Buckland-Willis, et al.

Cold atomic hydrogen plays a crucial role in the life cycle of interstellar gas. It serves as the intermediary phase in the condensation and cooling processes that bridge the warm diffuse gas in and around galaxies, and the cold molecular gas that drives star formation. HI self-absorption in the 21-cm emission line is the most direct observational tracer of cold HI gas that does not require a continuum background source, yet its systematic extraction remains a long-standing challenge. Existing methods of self-absorption identification rely on subjective by-eye inspection or modelling of the underlying emission, making repeatable, thorough, and large-scale applications difficult. We present a lightweight convolutional neural network designed to detect self-absorption features and infer their velocities via a post-hoc process, without assumptions about the underlying emission or the use of ancillary data. Trained on synthetic emission spectra, the neural network achieves 96.5 per cent accuracy, 96.0 per cent precision, and 97.0 per cent recall on held-out synthetic data. Applied to observed 21-cm emission data from the Riegel—Crutcher cloud and giant molecular filament regions towards the Galactic Plane, the network recovers the spatial distributions and velocities of known self-absorption structures when compared to previous analyses and ancillary 13CO emission data. Crucially, the neural network is computationally efficient, processing detections for ~15,000 spectra per second on a single consumer laptop GPU, enabling real-time cold HI detection at the data rates anticipated by next-generation facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

R. D. Taboada, N. C. Martinez, S. Paron, A. Petriella, M. E. Ortega, et al.

Astrochemical processes involving sulfur are not yet well understood because cosmic sulfur reservoirs and the production pathways of sulfur-bearing species remain elusive. Addressing this, requires high-resolution interferometric observations capable of probing individual molecular cores. Following our previous study focused on early molecular cores, we are motivated to expand this investigation toward a sample of evolved cores to understand their chemical transition. We analyzed data from ALMA toward 16 molecular cores in massive star-forming regions associated with methanol masers, targeting the same six sulfur-bearing species studied in a previous work toward early molecular cores: SO, SO2, H2CS, SO+, NS, and 34SO. Column densities and abundances were derived assuming LTE, and temperatures were estimated from methanol transitions. Comparisons were made between the results obtained for the evolved cores and those previously obtained for the early ones. We find that the abundances of the sulfur-bearing molecules are higher in the evolved cores than in the early ones, confirming a general time-dependent enrichment of sulfur in the gas phase. While abundances increase within the 100-220 K range, their correlation with temperature weakens, suggesting that gas kinematics become increasingly more important in the sulfur chemistry. This evolutionary transition involves a chemical reorganization where SO2 becomes dominant. We confirm the validity of SO2/SO as a chemical clock, though chemical modeling reveals a discrepancy in sources with more pronounced kinematic processes, namely a steeper increase in the SO2/SO ratio. The line-width analysis of the molecular species indicates that core evolution and kinematics lead to a well-mixed gas, erasing the spatial stratification where different species trace distinct layers in the cores at earlier stages.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 19 September 2026

Simin Tong, Nienke van der Marel, Jonathan P. Williams, Alexa R. Anderson

The external environment where protoplanetary disks are embedded regulates disk evolution. External irradiation, which heats and evaporates gas, as well as frequent stellar encounters, which truncate disks, can reduce disk sizes and masses. Disk surveys in nearby star-forming regions with various environments can help us understand how external environments impact disk evolution. The Serpens star-forming region, which is thought to be dense but not highly irradiated by massive stars, is an ideal laboratory to study the dynamical effects on disk properties. We aim to study how dynamical interactions modify disk dust masses by comparing Serpens with other nearby star-forming regions through their disk masses and 3D stellar densities. We survey 321 young stellar objects from Class I to III in Serpens using ALMA at 0.25 arcsec. We measure disk dust masses from millimeter observations under the optically thin assumption and recompute the 3D stellar density using Gaia data. We apply the same method to other nearby star-forming regions for direct comparison with Serpens. The cumulative disk dust mass distribution of Serpens is similar to those of similarly aged nearby star-forming regions, such as Lupus and Taurus. Along with re-assessment of the 3D stellar density, it suggests that Serpens is not likely to have experienced strong tidal truncation capable of producing lower disk dust masses. We also find that the low disk dust mass tension in Ophiuchus and Corona Australis can be resolved when only disks that have been explicitly identified as members of young (1-2 Myr) sub-clusters are considered. Disks without Gaia identifications, especially in Ophiuchus, are spatially clustered in the 2D projected sky plane and less massive than nearby disks with Gaia identifications, possibly tracing the effects of tidal truncation in denser environments at earlier evolutionary stages.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 3 September 2026

R. M. R. Tulloh, D. Ward-Thompson, J. Karoly, J. M. Kirk, K. Pattle

We present a study of the magnetic field (B-field) in the Eagle Nebula (M16) using data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) B-fields In STar-forming Region Observations (BISTRO) survey. We extend our previous study of the well-known `Pillars of Creation' region of the nebula to study two other structures in the region, the `Spire' and the bright-rimmed cloud (BRC) known as `SFO30'. These structures show similar B-field morphologies to the Pillars. We calculate B-field strengths using the Davis-Chandrasekhar-Fermi (DCF) method and thereby estimate the magnetic potential energy in each of these regions for comparison with the local gravitational, turbulent and thermal energies, as well as the pressure energy of the shocks from nearby O-type stars. We find approximate equipartition between the energies supporting the regions and those tending towards collapse, with the B-field support playing a significant role. This agrees with our earlier hypothesis that B-fields help support pillar-like structures in molecular clouds and make them longer-lived than they would otherwise have been.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

Tabassum S Tanvir, Jacob B Simon, Daniel Carrera, Jeonghoon Lim

We present evidence that the streaming instability (SI) can form planetesimals from millimeter grains inside axisymmetric pressure bumps, provided the bump is not too strongly reinforced. We conducted three-dimensional local shearing-box simulations of millimeter grains in a Gaussian pressure bump of amplitude $A = 0.6$, at a resolution of $160/H$. We varied only the Newtonian reinforcement timescale $t_{\rm reinf}$, the timescale on which the imposed bump is restored against particle back-reaction. Our reference run T1 uses $t_{\rm reinf} = 1\,Ω^{-1}$. Particles pile up in a narrow axisymmetric band at the minimum-headwind point, cross the Roche density, and collapse through direct gravitational instability (GI). In our weakly reinforced run T100 with $t_{\rm reinf} = 100\,Ω^{-1}$, the outcome is different. Particles drift through the bump roughly three times more slowly, and dense SI-like filaments develop across a wide radial region well before the Roche density is reached. These results are consistent with a residence-time criterion, which states that for the SI to grow, $t_{\rm cross} > t_{\rm grow}$, where $t_{\rm cross}$ is the time a particle spends inside the region where the ratio $Z/Π$ of the solid abundance $Z = Σ_p/Σ_g$ to the headwind parameter $Π= Δv/c_{\rm s}$ is high enough for strong clumping, and $t_{\rm grow}$ is the SI growth time. T1 violates this criterion, and T100 satisfies it. Our results suggest that the reinforcement timescale matters for millimeter grains because it helps set the crossing time, and therefore whether the SI has time to grow. We caution, however, that our reinforcement scheme is an idealised numerical construction rather than a physical bump-forming mechanism such as a planet, and a more definitive test of this picture will require simulations with a more physically motivated bump.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

Hanju Nam, Woojin Kwon, Youngwoo Choi, Ian W. Stephens, Leslie W. Looney

Magnetic fields play a crucial role in regulating the collapse of dense molecular clouds, shaping the early stages of protostellar evolution. We present polarization observations in submillimeter wavelengths with the SCUBA-2/POL-2 instrument on James Clerk Maxwell Telescope toward the Class 0 protostellar system L1527 IRS (IRAS 04368+2557). The magnetic field morphology varies across the core of L1527 IRS. Magnetic fields in the eastern region are perpendicular to the outflow axis, while those in the western region show a pinched morphology, overall aligned with the outflow cavity. These distinct bipolar outflow regions also have a clear color difference in near infrared observed by James Webb Space Telescope. In addition, the spectral index derived from 450 μm and 850 μm observations reveals that the northwestern region of the protostellar system is colder and denser compared to the southeastern region. Furthermore, in the large-scale structures and magnetic fields revealed by Herschel and Planck, we find a ~0.1 pc scale filamentary structure parallel to the large-scale magnetic fields in the eastern region and a relatively isotropic mass distribution in the western region. Based on these results, we propose an accretion scenario of the protostellar system in which an asymmetric mass distribution causes the distinct features observed in near-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 11 September 2026

Nolan Habel, E. Sabbi, Peter Zeidler, Tuila Ziliotto, Laurie Chu Margaret Meixner, et al.

We present the first results from a JWST/NIRCam study of the star-forming region N159, one of the richest H II complexes in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This region stretches over $\sim$130 pc, and exemplifies large-scale sequential star formation. We present photometric results of $>$300,000 point sources combining data from ten near-infrared JWST filters spanning 1-4.7 microns. We detect sources as faint as $\sim$27 magnitudes at F115W, corresponding to stellar masses reaching below $\sim$0.1 $M_{\odot}$. By constructing several color-magnitude and color-color diagrams, we separate young stars from main-sequence and older stars within N159, finding evidence for stellar populations younger than 0.5 Myr. Of the young population, we identify accreting, pre-main sequence stars from their Paschen-$α$ (Pa$α$) excess and a population of sources bearing strong infrared (IR) excess, representing candidate young stellar objects (YSOs). Within this population, we identify a subpopulation of sources with H$_2$O ice absorption. The IR-excess-bearing YSO candidates correlate spatially with dust filaments and molecular gas demonstrating their embedded state. The distribution of stellar and candidate YSO populations across N159 reveal more evolved star-forming populations in the N159E region and newer star formation in the N159W region, supporting the sequential star formation scenario for this region.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

Charles J. Law, Jensen Lawrence, Richard Teague, Zhe-Yu Daniel Lin, Romane Le Gal, et al.

Chemical tracers provide some of the strongest observational signatures of ongoing planet formation and localized dynamical perturbations in protoplanetary disks. In particular, sulfur-bearing molecules are predicted to be enhanced in regions of shock heating, ice sublimation, and gravitational instability. Here, we present high-angular-resolution ($\approx$0.$^{\prime\prime}$2) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of $^{12}$CO J=3-2, $^{13}$CO J=3-2, CS J=7-6, and SO J$_{\rm N}$=8$_8$-7$_7$ toward the large, edge-on Gomez's Hamburger ('GoHam'; IRAS 18059-3211) disk. We detect a narrow, one-sided arc of SO emission that peaks near a previously-identified gas over-density, suggesting localized heating around an early-stage giant protoplanet or disk fragment. The edge-on geometry of GoHam enables us to place this chemical signature in the broader context of the disk gas and dust structure. To do so, we map the vertical distribution of molecular gas relative to millimeter- and (sub)-micron-sized dust, identify a pronounced north-south continuum asymmetry, and detect non-Keplerian $^{12}$CO and $^{13}$CO emission indicative of a disk wind. We also derive a dynamical stellar mass of 2.2 $\pm$ 0.5 M$_{\odot}$ and a revised dust-extinction-map-based distance of 139 $\pm$ 24 pc, which places GoHam in the outskirts of the Scorpius-Centaurus association. Together, these observations reveal a highly dynamic disk in which localized sulfur chemistry may trace one of the earliest observable stages of wide-separation giant planet formation.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

Han-Gyeol Yun, Jeong-Eun Lee, Jaehan Bae, Woong-Tae Kim

Recent observations suggest that accretion streamers are common in protoplanetary disks, yet their dynamical impact on disk evolution remains poorly understood. Using three-dimensional hydrodynamic simulations with mass infall rates of $10^{-8}$—$10^{-6} \ M_{\odot}\ \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$, we investigate how streamer accretion influences the structure and evolution of protoplanetary disks. We find that a prograde streamer can excite disk eccentricity globally to values as high as $\sim0.4$. The resulting eccentric disk develops prominent spiral arms and crescent-shaped overdensities whose spatial structures agree remarkably well with analytic eccentric-disk theory. It also undergoes significant warping, and exhibits enhanced and variable stellar accretion. In contrast, retrograde streamer accretion efficiently removes disk angular momentum, producing a compact disk and, in extreme cases, triggering disk breaking. Using synthetic ALMA molecular-line observations, we show that streamer-driven perturbations generate observable kinematic signatures, including Doppler flips in moment maps and wiggles in position—velocity diagrams. Remarkably, these signatures can persist for up to $100\ \mathrm{kyr}$ after infall has ceased, suggesting that some kinematic disturbances observed in disks without currently detected streamers may be relics of past infall events. Finally, we discuss the implications of streamer-driven disk evolution for planet formation and planet—disk interactions.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 September 2026

M. Damasso, P. Leonardi, L. Borsato, S. Benatti, A. Suárez Mascareño, et al.

We aim to constrain the dynamical masses of the four confirmed transiting planets orbiting the infant ($20\pm10$ Myr) star V1298,Tau (orbital periods $P_b\sim$24.1 d, $P_c\sim$8.2 d, $P_d\sim$12.4 d, and $P_e\sim$48.7 d), through a new analysis of a homogeneous radial velocity dataset. This system is a key benchmark for testing formation and early-stage evolutionary models of planets. We analysed more than 380 high-resolution spectra collected with the HARPS-N spectrograph over a time span of 4.5,yr. To account for dominant stellar activity and transit-timing-derived planet-planet interactions, we analysed radial velocities extracted using two different approaches, and combined N-body simulations with multi-dimensional Gaussian process regression. We tested a set of spectroscopic and photometric activity diagnostics to mitigate the variability due to the stellar magnetic activity in the radial velocity time series. The mass determinations are sensitive to the choice of the radial velocity extraction method and activity diagnostics. For some specific models, we measured masses with a significance of 3.5—4$σ$ for planets b ($0.52^{+0.12}{-0.14}$, $0.65^{+0.21}{-0.18}$, $0.67\pm0.16$, and $0.78^{+0.19}{-0.20}$ $M_{\rm Jup}$) and e (0.40$^{+0.14}{-0.13}$, 0.66$^{+0.17}{-0.18}$, and $0.71\pm0.20$ $M_{\rm Jup}$). These values are compatible with masses of giant planets, and are notably higher than those recently derived from transit timing variations alone, which indicate that these are low-density ``super-puffy'' planets. Injection-and-recovery simulations moderately support this conclusion for planet b. For planets c and d, we primarily provide updated mass upper limits. Our analysis represents an exploratory study to address the complex issue of mass measurement in a multi-planetary system characterised by high levels of stellar activity.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 24 September 2026

Ji-hyun Kang, Jeong-Eun Lee, Seokho Lee, Shigehisa Takakuwa

Complex organic molecules (COMs) are typically observed in the warm inner envelopes of Class 0 protostars. In more evolved Class I sources, COM emission is confined to the compact inner disk and obscured by high dust opacity, but the FU Orionis-type binary L1551 IRS 5 offers a valuable opportunity to probe disk chemistry, as its outburst luminosity thermally sublimates ices out to large radii. We sought to spatially resolve the origins of COMs in this system to distinguish between central radiative heating and shock-induced chemistry driven by heterogeneous accretion pathways. We analyzed high-angular-resolution ALMA archival data, focusing on COMs (e.g., CH3OH, CH3OCHO) and the shock tracer SO, and compared their spatial morphologies and kinematics to diagnose the excitation conditions associated with different accretion flows. We find that the COM emission in L1551 IRS 5 arises from both radiative heating and localized accretion shocks. In the northern source, the widespread low-excitation COM emission is primarily consistent with thermal heating by the recent outburst. This source also exhibits dual-mode accretion with distinct chemical signatures, with COMs along the spiral arm tracing steady equatorial circumbinary disk-to-circumstellar disk accretion and high-excitation COMs with bright SO along the eastern disk surface tracing a vertical envelope-to-disk streamer impact. In the southern source, methanol is confined to the southeastern streamer impact site, whereas SO forms a ring-like structure at the tidal truncation radius. We attribute this difference to differential chemical survival timescales. L1551 IRS 5 thus serves as an ideal laboratory to investigate how shock chemistry and binary-regulated accretion shape the chemical structure of protostellar disks.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 7 September 2026

Dhruv Muley, David Melon Fuksman, Prakruti Sudarshan, Alexandros Ziampras, Mario Flock

The thermodynamics of protoplanetary disks, governed by a complex interplay between gas, dust, and radiation, exerts a strong influence on their morphology and dynamics at both large and small scales. Historically, hydrodynamical simulations have treated thermodynamics with approximate prescriptions, such as local isothermality, parametrized $β$-cooling, and radiation hydrodynamics with gas-dust thermal equilibrium. However, a more comprehensive and self-consistent approach would more accurately reproduce the wealth of features found in observations, which in modern times have reached unprecedented spectral, angular, and vertical resolution. With this motivation, we have devised a radiation-hydrodynamics scheme for the PLUTO code with energy exchange (via absorption, emission, and collisions) for gas, radiation, and multiple species of dust. Dust-gas dynamics are handled by treating each dust species as a pressureless, diffusive fluid, ensuring that our scheme can represent changes in disk illumination caused by grain settling and trapping. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our scheme in several test problems, and conclude by discussing its relevance to open questions in protoplanetary disk studies.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 24 September 2026

Kotomi Taniguchi, Masao Saito, Prasanta Gorai, Olli Sipilä, Kazuhito Dobashi, et al.

We present molecular emission line data from the massive young stellar object (MYSO) G28.28-0.36 (G28.28) obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 3. Cyanopolyynes (HC$_3$N and HC$_5$N) and three complex organic molecules (COMs; CH$_3$OH, CH$_3$CN, and CH$_3$CHO) are detected from the MYSO G28.28. In addition, strong emission regions of cyanopolyynes are identified between G28.28 and a nearby ultracompact H II region. The HC$_5$N emission is coincident with the dust continuum peak, where an excitation temperature of 100 K is derived from CH$_3$CN. These results suggest that the Hot Carbon Chain Chemistry (HCCC) mechanism produces cyanopolyynes in the hot region around G28.28. We find that G28.28 exhibits a unique chemical feature: cyanopolyynes are abundant, but COMs are deficient, unlike the other MYSOs studied previously. These results imply that G28.28 is a counterpart of the Warm Carbon Chain Chemistry (WCCC) low-mass source L1527. G28.28 is the first HCCC source identified so far.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 25 September 2026

Mengke Zhao, Guang-Xing Li, Keping Qiu

The interplay of magnetic fields, turbulence, and gravity governs the structural evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM) and the initial conditions of star formation, yet observational gaps have long enforced a broken power-law description of the magnetic field—density relation. Here we assemble a unified dataset spanning ten orders of magnitude in density ($10^{-26}$—$10^{-16}\,\mathrm{g\,cm^{-3}}$) by combining pulsar and Zeeman observations. The unified data are consistent with a continuous magnetic-field evolution organised by the Alfvén Mach number $\mathcal{M}_{\rm A}=\sqrt{E_K/E_B}$. Within this interpretation, the low-density gas is magnetically dominated ($\mathcal{M}_{\rm A}<1$), whereas the high-density gas becomes kinetically dominated ($\mathcal{M}_{\rm A}>1$) as gravity increasingly contributes to the kinetic-energy budget, with magnetic tension continuing to influence the collapse geometry. Within the Gradual Transition interpretation, the empirical break density traces the vicinity of the trans-Alfvénic equipartition point, $\mathcal{M}_{\rm A}=1$. This Gradual Transition model makes three predictions tested here. Its exponent and background field are fixed in advance by turbulent physics and recovered by the fits ($β\approx0.15$—$0.21$ against a predicted $0.147$; $B_c\approx2.0\,μ$G). A dense-gas fit, extrapolated blindly across four decades, passes through the diffuse pulsar data. And, under the adopted scale mappings, the implied magnetic-energy spectrum approaches a $k^{-5/3}$-like scaling on large scales and departs from this extrapolation on small scales, where gravitational compression amplifies the field. The broken power law can therefore be viewed as a piecewise approximation to the continuous magnetic equation of state, with its fitted transition density potentially retaining a physical connection to the onset of gravity-driven motions.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 7 September 2026

Sajay Sunny Mathew, Christoph Federrath, Amit Seta

Turbulence regulates star formation by influencing the density structure and fragmentation of molecular clouds, and therefore it is expected to play a key role in setting the initial mass function (IMF). We study how the strength of the turbulent shocks affects star formation and the IMF by comparing a series of magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) simulations of star cluster formation in clouds with three different rms Mach number values, $M=2.5, 5$, and $10$, but otherwise the same Alfvén Mach number ($M_\mathrm{A}\sim3$) and virial parameter ($α_\mathrm{vir}\sim0.5$). All three simulations include stellar feedback in the form of protostellar jets/outflows and accretion heating. We find that the star formation rate per freefall time ($\mathrm{SFR_{ff}}$) for the $M=10$ model is higher by a factor of $\sim3$ compared to the $M=2.5$ and $5$ cases, which have similar $\mathrm{SFR_{ff}}$. In terms of the IMF, the $M=5$ and $10$ models produce almost similar distributions, resembling typical observed IMFs. The $M=2.5$ model, on the other hand, produces a bimodal IMF with a primary peak at supersolar masses ($\sim 2\, \mathrm{M_\odot}$) and a secondary peak in the substellar regime ($< 0.1\, \mathrm{M_\odot}$). The $M=2.5$ and $5$ simulations producing significantly different IMFs while having similar $\mathrm{SFR_{ff}}$, suggest that a distinct set of physical processes governs the SFR and IMF. Through a resolution study for the $M=2.5$ case, we find our base models have reached near numerical convergence, potentially only slightly underestimating close-binary formation. We also see signatures of bimodality in the $M=2.5$ model for the multiplicity fraction and stellar angular momentum distribution.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 30 September 2026

Shuo Kong, Griselda Arroyo-Chávez, Volker Ossenkopf-Okada, Héctor G. Arce, Ralf S. Klessen, et al.

The Collision-induced Magnetic Reconnection (CMR) mechanism has recently been proposed as a filament formation model that emphasizes the active role of magnetic fields. To enable better observational tests with data from modern telescopes, we provide more specific observable predictions for filaments formed via CMR. Two types of CMR kinematics are revealed in position-velocity (PV) diagrams. First, due to the nature of CMR, the midplane contains a {\it converging motion} close to the filament and two {\it diverging motions} farther from the filament. They exhibit a blueshift, redshift, blueshift, redshift (BRBR) velocity pattern along the line-of-sight when the collision midplane is inclined, giving rise to a special pattern in the PV-diagram. Second, the longitudinal PV-diagram along the filament spine exhibits a velocity oscillating pattern, which is currently attributed to the magnetic transport of gas clumps in the {\it converging motion}. The first type of pattern involves emission primarily outside the filament, which can be confused with the environment. The second type, however, mainly emerges from gas inside the filament, thus more robust for observational tests. Both the integral-shaped filament and the Stick filament in the Orion A cloud show the velocity oscillation in PV-diagrams, although the spatial oscillation frequency and their velocity spread differ.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 14 September 2026

Gabriel Nathan, Seth A. Jacobson

One proposed mechanism for generating iron isotopic differences between planetary mantles and chondrites is metal-silicate equilibration during terrestrial core formation. Prior studies of this isotopic fractionation effect employ single-stage core formation models that are inconsistent with reproducing the siderophile element budget of the Earth's mantle. Here, we model iron isotopic evolution of the Earth's mantle in a multistage core formation scenario that is consistent with dynamic models of planet formation and reproduces the geochemistry of the bulk silicate Earth, specifically the refractory moderately siderophile elements. We find that multiple stages of core formation rebalance the fractionating effect of metal-silicate equilibration for the iron isotopic system, comparable to or smaller than typical analytical uncertainties in mantle rocks. Ultimately, this rebalancing effect - coupled with stochastic accretion and differentiation histories which further complicate planetary formation processes - makes it unlikely that isotopic fractionation during metal-silicate equilibration is the primary mechanism responsible for the iron isotopic composition of the Earth's mantle.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 28 August 2026

Lynne A. Hillenbrand, Thomas P. Greene, Evan R. Portnoi, Bringfried Stecklum

We present near-infrared spectroscopic observations of L1415-IRS, a Class I type young stellar object that underwent a factor of $>$30 photometric outburst in the early 2000s. Ours is the first reported spectroscopy of this deeply embedded source. Both components of L1415-IRS present continuum plus $H_2$ emission. The southern component has additional weak HI Br$γ$ and $CO$ emission. Based upon our spectrum and evidence of a declining lightcurve, we hypothesize that either: the outburst was not large enough and therefore hot enough to produce the FU Ori type absorption spectrum commonly interpreted as an accretion disk atmosphere, or the source has already recovered from FU Ori-type equatorial accretion to re-establish T Tauri-type magnetospheric accretion.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 14 September 2026

E. Paunzen, J. Florian, A. Gütl-Wallner, A. Herdin, E. Kralofsky, et al.

About 50 years ago, one thousand ring-like structures (called stellar-rings) were discovered by Isserstedt (1968). They were believed to be groups of young stars formed by shell-like triggered star formation, which would make them excellent tracers of spiral arms, for example. Neglected for 40 years, we used highly accurate kinematic, astrometric, and photometric data to investigate the four most prominent stellar rings. The aim is to investigate if those structures are indeed physically related groups of stars. We used proper motions and parallaxes from the Gaia DR2 to calculate distances and to search for common properties. Color-magnitude diagrams using BVJHKs measurements were investigated and isochrones fitted. None of the four stellar rings consists of a physically related group of young stars. The location of stars in the line-of-sight mimics a ring-like structure on the sky. The color-magnitude diagrams are typical for an integrated field population and not for a young star cluster, for example. The currently available data are sufficient to analyze ring-like structures with a high statistical significance. This allows a new search for such structures in the Milky Way.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 8 September 2026

L. K. Dewangan, O. R. Jadhav, A. K. Maity, Saurabh Sharma, Ram K. Yadav

We present a multi-scale kinematic study of the hub-filament system in Mon R2 using JCMT $^{13}$CO(3—2) and ALMA C$^{18}$O(1—0) observations to investigate how molecular gas converges toward the central hub and connects across cloud-to-core scales. The $^{13}$CO data reveal several velocity-coherent filaments with diverse position angles converging toward the central region hosting massive stars and stellar clusters, where distinct velocity components become spatially superposed. Two dominant velocity regimes at $\sim$8.8—10.2 and $\sim$10.4—11.8 km s$^{-1}$ are identified, with their velocity separation decreasing toward the central hub. The position—position—velocity and longitude—velocity maps of the $^{13}$CO emission exhibit a butterfly/X-shaped morphology, consistent with converging motions. A phenomenological rotating-and-infalling envelope model reproduces the longitude-velocity morphology, indicating that rotation and infall may contribute to the observed kinematics, although the model does not uniquely identify the underlying mechanism. At higher resolution, the ALMA C$^{18}$O observations resolve the molecular gas into multiple velocity-coherent filaments spanning $\sim$8—13 km s$^{-1}$, with distinct kinematic domains at $\sim$9—10.5, 10.5—11.5, and 12—13 km s$^{-1}$ converging toward the hub. The ALMA and JCMT position-velocity diagrams show consistent velocity structures across their respective spatial scales, with the ALMA-resolved features embedded within the broader molecular-gas velocity field traced by JCMT, demonstrating a multi-scale kinematic connection. These results support a hierarchical picture in which converging flows and filamentary accretion contribute to hub growth and ongoing star formation in Mon R2, while other dynamical processes may also contribute to the observed kinematics.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 18 September 2026

Yuhua Liu, Satoko Takahashi, Masahiro N. Machida

We report the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of 1.3 mm continuum, C$^{18}$O ($J=2-1$), and N$_{2}$D$^{+}$ ($J=3-2$) toward the millimeter multi-system MMS 2 in the Orion Molecular Cloud-3 region, at an angular resolution of 1.59" ($\sim$620 au). MMS 2 is in the flat-spectrum phase, with its protostars in the late stage of the main accretion phase. We detect the centrally condensed structures traced by C$^{18}$O emission associated with the 1.3 mm continuum sources MMS 2-North and MMS 2-South, which are spatially resolved and unresolved, respectively. The estimated diameter and mass of the centrally condensed structure associated with MMS 2-North are 1.64" ($\sim$640 au) and 3.0$\times$10$^{-4}$M$_{\odot}$, respectively. We also detect an extended structure traced by C$^{18}$O emission associated the circumbinary envelope at scale of 5.70" ($\sim$2240 au) with an estimated gas mass of 1.4$\times$10$^{-2}M_{\odot}$. In addition, we detect a filamentary structure traced by N$_2$D$^+$ emission to the south of MMS 2, which is spatially offset from the C$^{18}$O emission. This offset may be attributed to the influence of the warm surrounding environment.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 9 September 2026

C. Ordenes-Huanca, A. Bayo, M. Zoccali, V. Guzmán, A. Rojas-Arriagada

Infrared (IR) large-sky surveys allow study of how localized star formation is, enabling searches for young stellar objects (YSOs) not only at the centers of known stellar nurseries but also across the Galactic plane. However, these spatially unbiased searches suffer from contamination, most notably from dusty asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars characterized by long-period variability. Using time-series analysis, and taking advantage of the different variability timescales of YSOs against long-period variables (LPVs), we assess the level of contamination of one of the most spatially unbiased YSO catalogs (\textit{Spitzer}/IRAC Candidate YSO, SPICY). Distinguishing between these two groups lets us draw more robust conclusions about the frequency of isolated YSOs in our Galaxy and their implications. We cross-match the SPICY and VIRAC2 catalogs (VVV/VVVX Survey), build near-IR light curves for common sources, and compute their periods and amplitudes. Contaminants are identified as sources with periodic flux variations with periods $P\geq 80\,d$ and amplitudes $ΔK_{\rm s}\geq0.35\,\rm{mag}$. From $58\,737$ common sources, we identify $742$ SPICY objects as LPV contaminants based on their long-period variability, and identify $307$ high-confidence periodic YSO candidates exhibiting short-period flux changes consistent with cool spots. Near- and mid-IR amplitudes are correlated only among LPVs, suggesting a common pulsation origin. In addition, the spatial distribution of the identified populations further supports our classification, with LPVs preferentially associated with the bulge and YSOs at the lowest galactic latitudes.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 29 September 2026

Yu Cheng, Kei I. Tanaka, Takashi Shimonishi, Yichen Zhang, Suinan Zhang, et al.

The Magellanic Clouds provide an excellent laboratory to study massive star formation beyond typical Galactic environments. Using ALMA band 7 long-baseline observations, we present the highest resolution (approximately 0.03", $1500{\rm\:au}$) view to date of three massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) in the Magellanic Clouds, i.e., Lh03 and Lh09 in the LMC, and S07 in the SMC. The 0.87 mm continuum, with a sensitivity of $\sim30\:μ$Jy beam$^{-1}$, reveals varying levels of fragmentation, from a single compact source (S07), a few (Lh03), to a cluster of compact sources (Lh09). In Lh09, we identified 17 core candidates with lowest measured mass of 2.6 Msun, and their de-projected separations peak around 6000~au. All three targets exhibit high velocity CO(3—2) outflows, including detection of a collimated bipolar jet driven by a core in Lh09. Spectral lines from HCO$^+$, SO, and SO$_2$ are detected in all sources. We observe velocity gradients that likely trace rotating toroids (Lh03) or more complex motions (Lh09, S07). Taken together, these phenomena observed on $\sim1500$~au scales are qualitatively similar to those seen in Galactic MYSOs, suggesting a degree of universality in the basic processes of massive star formation across different environments. Nevertheless, the substantial source-to-source diversity in continuum morphology and dense-gas kinematics motivates larger high-resolution surveys to determine how these properties vary with source characteristics and environment.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

R. M. Torres, R. K. Saito, V. Fermiano, P. Esteves, B. W. Borges, et al.

Multiwavelength surveys of the Galactic midplane enable the identification of infrared-excess sources, signatures of circumstellar material, though high extinction and crowding hinder detection. We construct a homogeneous catalog of infrared-excess candidates in a $\sim$7.0 deg$^2$ field of the Vela-Carina region, characterizing their excess emission via spectral energy distribution (SED) analysis. We combine optical photometry from DECaPS, near-infrared photometry from VVVX, and mid-infrared photometry from Spitzer/GLIMPSE using hierarchical positional cross-matching. Candidates are selected via photometric quality and MIR color diagnostics, and their SEDs are analyzed with VOSA using theoretical atmosphere model grids. Photogeometric distances are adopted, while Gaia DR3 and NEOWISE variability provide complementary diagnostics. From the matched 249,719-source VVVX-GLIMPSE-DECaPS catalog, we identify 1,512 MIR-excess objects, of which 191 have complete 12-band photometry with S/N > 10, enabling detailed SED analysis. Photogeometric distances are statistically consistent with geometric distances for nearly the entire sample. SED analysis independently supports the MIR-excess nature of most sources, indicating emission beyond stellar photospheres. About 15% of sources are flagged variable by Gaia, while NEOWISE light curves reveal MIR variability of a few tenths of a magnitude. Comparisons with published YSO and variability-selected catalogs show limited overlap, particularly with variability-selected samples, indicating that MIR-excess selection complements other approaches to identifying candidate YSOs in the Vela-Carina region. The resulting catalog provides a well-defined MIR-excess sample with homogeneous multiband photometry, SED characterization, distances, and variability diagnostics, forming a foundation for future spectroscopic and time-domain studies.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 22 September 2026

Andrea Bernardi, Alice Zurlo, Lucas A. Cieza, Garreth Ruane, Valentin Christiaens, et al.

We present high-contrast imaging observations of seven stars obtained with the Keck/NIRC2 vortex coronagraph between 2018 May and June in the $L'$ and $M_s$ bands. All targets host protoplanetary disks with substructures such as gaps and cavities, potentially tracing ongoing planet formation. Our aim is to assess whether these embedded planets can be directly detected. We reduced the observations with a custom pipeline based on the VIP Python package. Postprocessed images were obtained using angular differential imaging and reference differential imaging combined with principal component analysis. Finally, 5$σ$ contrast curves and detection limits were derived for all targets. We confirm the planetary candidate around Elias 2-24, previously proposed in the literature, at a separation of 394$\pm$31 mas (54.9$\pm4$.3 au) and a position angle of 298.8$\pm$3.2$^\circ$, within the narrow gap of the protoplanetary disk. Comparing the derived photometry with 1 Myr isochrones, we infer a mass between 1.9 and 4.0 Jupiter masses for Elias 2-24 b, without considering accretion effects, in agreement with estimates considering the properties of the gap and planet-disk interactions. For all the systems in the survey, the 5$σ$ detection limits reach sensitivities down to 1-11 Jupiter masses at separations $\gtrsim$0.25". Since Elias 2-24 b (age $\lesssim$1 Myr) is the youngest exoplanet discovered to date, its confirmation has important implications for planet formation timescales and the origin of the gaps observed in very young disks.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 19 September 2026

Mengke Zhao, Guang-Xing Li, Keping Qiu, Guangya Zeng

Molecular clouds are often described as self-similar structures, although spatially averaged measures do not retain local variations in density scaling. We use the density exponent $κ_ρ$ ($ρ\propto r^{κ_ρ}$) to characterize the density structure of the Integral Shaped Filament (ISF) in Orion\,A. Applying the Multiscale Decomposition Reconstruction method to the Herschel column-density map, we find distinct density—scale relations across the connected filament. Their slopes steepen from $κ_ρ\approx -1.7$ to $-1.9$ in the quiescent OMC-4/5 regions, through $\approx -2.1$ in the star-forming OMC-2/3, to $\approx -2.3$ in OMC-1, which hosts massive star formation. The ISF therefore does not follow a single local density-scaling exponent but exhibits multi-fractal density scaling. The pixel-level distributions show the same progression toward higher volume density and more negative $κ_ρ$. Since $κ_ρ$ measures the concentration of gas toward smaller scales, we interpret this sequence as gravity-driven differential collapse: denser regions have shorter free-fall times and develop steeper density profiles. Longitudinal gas motions toward OMC-1 may limit the mass supply available for large-scale growth in the outer sub-regions and help maintain the observed range of local exponents. These results link local density scaling to gravitational concentration within a single connected filamentary system.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 21 September 2026

Thomas Pfeil, Alexandros Ziampras, Shangjia Zhang, Philip J. Armitage, Yan-Fei Jiang

The Vertical Shear Instability (VSI) is known to create turbulence and strong vertical mixing in protoplanetary disks if thermal relaxation is sufficiently fast. In simulations where this condition is met, VSI can loft dust particles to large altitudes, creating a vertically extended appearance in mock millimeter-wavelength observations, which is inconsistent with the morphology of the majority of observed class II disks. We present simulations of protoplanetary disks with VSI that are consistent with the observed thin-disk geometries, while maintaining the commonly observed bowl-shaped morphology in scattered light images at micrometer wavelength. We show that this outcome arises naturally when the effects of dust coagulation, sedimentation, and dust-gas thermal accommodation are taken into account. Sedimentation-driven coagulation removes large amounts of dust from the disk atmosphere, in the process slowing down the dust-driven cooling of the gas. At the same time, a dense midplane layer of millimeter-sized grains forms, which exerts aerodynamic drag on the gas. This results in the termination of the VSI's corrugation mode. Only weak VSI activity remains in the upper and lower hemispheres. These processes occur on the typical dust growth timescale and suppress strong VSI-induced turbulence within a few hundred thousand years. VSI could thus generally be restricted to the class I evolutionary stages of protoplanetary disks.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 23 September 2026

M. Zannese, A. Sidhu, A. Guerras, M. Pound, M. Wolfire, et al.

Molecular hydrogen (H2), the most abundant molecule in the interstellar medium, is a handy tool to study Photodissociation Regions. The JWST, with its high spatial resolution, sensitivity, and wavelength coverage, provides unique access to the detection and spatial morphology of the H2 rotational and rovibrational lines. Our goal is to analyze H2 line emission detected with JWST in several PDRs (the Orion Bar, NGC7023, and the Horsehead Nebula) to constrain the physical structure of dissociation front, and compare the impact of the ultraviolet field and the gas density across different regions. The analysis of H2 spatial morphology reveals similar filamentary structures across all regions. Spatial shifts between H2 lines (0.5") are observed and linked to differences in excitation mechanisms (thermalized vs FUV-pumped lines) and the temperature gradient. Despite differences in incident irradiation conditions, analysis of H2 rotational excitation yields high gas temperatures that are similar across the three PDRs. This is expected for a certain regime of excited PDRs (such as Orion and NGC7023), where the G0 at the DFs and the density are similar. However, it is surprising for less excited PDRs like the Horsehead Nebula. OPRs in the rotational and rovibrational levels differ across the three PDRs. We also used H2 rovibrational lines and the 0-0 S(3) line to estimate the visual extinction across the field of view, yielding markedly different results that constrain both the geometry and the grain composition. Due to the complex 3D geometry, H2 emission is observed throughout the FOV and is dominated by the thin UV illuminated layer, making H2 an unreliable tracer of gas temperature in deeper and coolers molecular layers of the PDR. Therefore, H2 emission is not sufficient to trace the possible temperature and density gradient across PDRs and must therefore be associated with other tracers.

arXiv | PDF | ADS | 25 September 2026