This binary star could give rise to three new planetary systems

The primordial matter that may give rise to three planetary systems, has been identified for the first time in unprecedented detail around a binary star. The discovery was made by an international team of researchers, who, after three decades of studies, noticed that the stars of the SVS 13 system, 980 light-years away, are surrounded by Gas and dust discsable to form new planets.

The team worked with 30 years of observations of the star in its embryonic stage, carried out by the Very Large Array (VLA) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescopes. SVS 13 is made up of a pair of stars that together add roughly the same mass as the Sun. binary (that is, two of them orbit a common center) are relatively close to us, in the Perseus molecular cloud.

The stars in the system are very close to each other, and this proximity allowed the team to investigate the composition of the gas, dust, and ionized materials found there. In general, planetary formation models work with Sun-like stars She suggests that new worlds are being formed by the slow accumulation of dust and ice particles in the disks of protoplanets around stars.

However, most stars give rise to binary systems, and it is still not well understood how new planets form around such systems – mainly because of the existence of such planets. gravitational interaction Interstellar plays an important role. “Our results revealed that each star has a disk of gas and dust around it, plus there is a larger disk forming around them,” said Ana Carla Diaz-Rodriguez, the study’s lead author.

future planetary systems

The authors note that the outer disk, with its spiral structure, feeds individuals with matter, allowing for the formation of future planetary systems.

He pointed out, “This is clear evidence of the existence of disks around the two stars and the existence of a common disk in a binary system.” In addition, they discovered nearly 30 different molecules and 13 organic molecules Complex precursors of life, seven of which have been identified in the system for the first time.

Therefore, the team concluded that when planets begin to form around these two “suns,” the building blocks for life will be there. “We prepared some experiments to get more details and see if there are any stars Planets could form,” noted Guillem Engelada, the researcher coordinating the SVS 13 studies. We have now seen that both are very small, and both can form planets,” he added.

The article with the results of the study was accepted for publication in the journal Astrophysical Journal It can be accessed in the arXiv online repository, without peer review.

source: arXiv; Across: University of ManchesterAnd the Science alert