Radiation from massive stars — 100,000 times more luminescent than the Sun — shapes planetary systems.

Used by an international team The James Webb Space Telescope To study a protoplanetary disk in the Orion Nebula reveals how massive stars significantly influence the formation of planetary systems. They discovered that intense ultraviolet radiation from these stars prevented the formation Thursday– similar to planets in systems like d203-506, providing complex new insights into how planetary systems form.

How do planetary systems like the solar system form? To find out, CNRS scientists are participating in an international research team^[1] Using the James Webb Space Telescope to study the Orion Nebula, a stellar nursery.^[2] By observing a protoplanetary disk named d203-506, they discovered the important role massive stars play in the formation of such new planetary systems.^[3]

Hubble image of the Orion Nebula, and the protoplanetary disk taken by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) zoomed in on d203-506. Credit: NASA/STScI/Rice Univ./CO'Dell et al / O. Berné, I. Schrotter, PDRs4All

These stars are about 10 times more massive and more importantly 100,000 times more luminous than the Sun, exposing planets forming in such systems to extremely intense ultraviolet radiation. Depending on the mass of the star at the center of the planetary system, this radiation can help planets form or alternatively prevent them from doing so by dispersing their material. In the Orion Nebula, scientists found that a Jupiter-like planet could not have formed in the d203-506 planetary system due to intense radiation from massive stars.

This paper made the front page of the magazine Science On March 1^St2024 shows with unprecedented precision the decisive role played by massive stars in shaping planetary systems, and opens up new perspectives on how such systems form.

Learn more about this discovery:

Notes

1. The main French laboratories involved in this study are: Institut d'Recherche en Astrophysic et Planetologie (CNES/CNRS/Université Toulouse Paul Sabatier), Institut d'Astrophysic Spatial (CNRS/University Paris-Saclay), Dion-Etudeux. Astrophysics and Matter in the Atmosphere (CNRS/Université Cergy Paris/Observatoire de Paris-PSL/Sorbonne Université/), and the Institute of Molecular Sciences of Orsay (CNRS/Université Paris Saclay). This study is part of an international All of the PDRs4 'The plan.
2. The James Webb Infrared Space Telescope can peer through dust clouds, revealing distant celestial bodies like the Orion Nebula, 1400 light-years from Earth, with unparalleled clarity.
3. Systems less than a million years old.

Note: Olivier Bern, Emily Hubbard, Else Peters, Elaine Schroeter, Amelie Ganin, Amek Sidhu, Ryan Soun, Emeric Braun, Thomas Klorlas, J. 2010; Boris Trahin, Dries van de Putte, Philippe Alarcon, Marion Sannies, Alain Abergel, Edwin A. Bergin, Jerome Bernard-Salas, Christian Boersma, John Comey, Sarah Square, Emmanuel Tartois, Daniel Dicken, Meriem, Elyam, Elias Javier R Goicoechea, Karl D. Goicoechea, Karl D. Cordon, Lina Issa, Christine Joblin, Olga Kannavou, Baria Khan, Ozan Lacinbala, David Languignon, Romane Le Gal, Alexandros Maragkoudakis, Raphael Meshaka, Yoko Okada, Takashi Onakai, Sofia Pasquiani. , Massimo Roberto, Markus Rollick, Bethany Schefter, Thibaut Schirmer, Thomas Zimmer, Benoit Tabon, Alexandre GGM Dielens, Silvia Vicente, Mark G. Wolffire, PTRS4ALL Team†, Isabel German, Louis Baricandolet, Louis Baricolat, Louis Baricand Iolachet, au , Salma Bejawi, Partha B. Pera, John H. Black, Francois Boulanger, Jordi Baumann, Bernhard Brandl, Philippe Brechinac, Sandra Brunken, Mritusmitha Buragohain, Andrew Burkhart, Alessandra Kandian, Stephanie Cassaripot, Stephanie Cassaripot, Jose Cassaripot, Jason Champion, Sean W.J. Colgan, Ilsa R. Cook, Audrey Gaudens, Nick LJ Cox, Karin Demick, Jennifer Donovan Meyer, Cecile Engrand, Sacha Foschino, Pedro Garcia-Lario, Liseth Gavilan, Maryvonne Gerin, Corbyl A. Goddard, , Pierre Guillard, Anthony Gusdorf, Patrick Hartigan, Jinhua He, Eric Herbst, Liv Hornekaer, Cornelia Jager, Eduardo Janot-Pacheco, Michael Kaufman, Francisca Kemper, Sarah Kendrew, Maria S. Kirsanova, Alva Kirsanova, Alva Kwoknight, Alva Kirsanova, Collino Kirsanova Thomas S.-Y. Lai, Timothy J. Lee, Bertrand Lefloch, Frank Le Petit, Eisen Li, Hendrik Linz, Cameron J. Mackey, Suzanne C. Madden, Joelle Maschetti, Brett A. McGuire, Pablo Merino, Elisabetta R. Michelotta, John. , Giacomo Mulas, Nazlim Neelamkodan, Ryo Ohzawa, Roberta Paladini, Maria Elizabeth Palumbo, Amit Pathak, Yvonne J. Pendleton, Annemique Petrignani, Thomas Pino, Elena Buka, Naseem Rangwala, Matthias Rapaccioli, Elena Zualia Romali, A. , Gale Ruil, Farid Salama, Dinalwa A. Sales, Karin Sandstrom, Peter Surrey, Ella Sciamma-O'Brien, Chris Selgren, Matthew J. Shannon, Adrian Simonin, Sachindev S. Shenoy, David Daisier, Richard D. Thomas, Aditya Togi, Laurent Verstraete, Adolf N. Witt, Alwyn Wootten, Nathalie Ysard, Henning Zettergren, Yong Zhang, Ziwei E. Zhang and Junfeng Zhen, 29 February 2024, Science.
DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2861