Astronomers Unveil Newly-Forming Quadruple-Star System in Orion Constellation
Key Highlights :
In a recent groundbreaking discovery, an international team of astronomers led by Prof. Liu Tie from the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory (CAS-SHAO) used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile to observe a young quadruple star system in the Orion constellation. This remarkable find provides new insights into the formation mechanisms of binary and multiple-star systems and how they evolve over time.
The team was conducting a high-resolution survey of 72 dense cores in the Orion Giant Molecular Clouds (GMCs) when they observed a system of four stellar objects consisting of two protostars and two gas concentrations that are likely to undergo gravitational collapse in the near future. The largest separation between the four objects in the system was about 1,000 Astronomical Units (AUs), over 33 times the distance between the Sun and Neptune (30 AUs).
The observations also revealed several elongated ribbon-like structures that bound the four objects together and extended outwards. To determine the role played by these structures, the team conducted a numerical simulation that compared a similar quadruple system to the one they observed. Based on the results, the team theorizes that these extended ribbons could be “funnels” that transport gas from the core’s outer envelope to the protesters and connect newborn stars.
The dust emission spectra also revealed intricate gas outflows caused by the stellar winds generated by the protostars in the system, causing some of the accreting gas and dust to be lost. This could impact the evolution of this system.
This discovery provides a compelling explanation for the origins and formation mechanisms of binary and multiple-star systems, and it is hoped that future observations using ALMA and other millimeter/submillimeter observatories will reveal more details about multi-star systems in the formation process. This could ultimately lead to a better understanding of galactic evolution, planetary formation, and the emergence of life.
