New Study Reveals How Star Environments Shape Planet-Forming Disks

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A study led by Paolo Padoan, ICREA research professor at the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB), is challenging long-held views about how planetary disks form around young stars.


Published in Nature Astronomy, the research highlights the crucial role that a star’s surrounding environment plays in determining the size and lifetime of the disks where planets eventually form.


When a star is born, it is surrounded by a rotating disk of gas and dust. Over time, this material gives rise to planets. Until now, scientists believed that these disks gradually shrank as material was consumed by the star or by growing planets. However, Padoan’s work introduces a new idea: young stars actually gather additional material from their surroundings through a process called Bondi-Hoyle accretion, which enlarges and sustains their disks.


"Stars form in groups within giant gas clouds and can remain in that environment for millions of years after their birth," says Padoan, who is currently on leave at Dartmouth College. "Even after forming, a star's gravity can pull in material from the surrounding gas. Although this doesn't significantly change the star’s mass, it does restructure and expand its disk."


Understanding how much material a star can attract—and how that affects the disk’s spin and size—requires modeling the chaotic turbulence in interstellar gas, Padoan explains.


The study shows that Bondi-Hoyle accretion not only increases the mass of a disk but also delivers the angular momentum necessary to explain the large protoplanetary disks observed with modern telescopes. This new perspective helps resolve discrepancies between earlier theoretical models and real observations, forcing scientists to rethink established ideas about planet formation.


Using advanced computer simulations and analytical models, Padoan’s team matched their theoretical predictions with actual data gathered by ALMA, the world’s most powerful radio telescope. This combination of simulations and observations created a strong foundation for understanding how young stars interact with their environments.





"Comparing simulation results with real observations is critical for validation," says ICCUB researcher and team member Veli-Matti Pelkonen. "Simulations allow us to explore the underlying structures—density, velocity, and magnetic fields—that are otherwise invisible and track how they evolve over time."


Pelkonen notes that with the increasing power of supercomputers and new telescopes like the James Webb Space Telescope and ALMA, scientists will soon be able to model even more complex physical processes, further refining their understanding of star and planet formation.


The impact of this research extends beyond astrophysics. By uncovering how environmental factors influence disk formation, the study also informs the search for habitable planets and the conditions necessary for life beyond our solar system.
 
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