A far-ultraviolet-driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 383; no. 6686; pp. 988 - 992
• Main Authors: Berné, Olivier, Habart, Emilie, Peeters, Els, Schroetter, Ilane, Canin, Amélie, Sidhu, Ameek, Chown, Ryan, Bron, Emeric, Haworth, Thomas J, Klaassen, Pamela, Trahin, Boris, Van De Putte, Dries, Alarcón, Felipe, Zannese, Marion, Abergel, Alain, Bergin, Edwin A, Bernard-Salas, Jeronimo, Boersma, Christiaan, Cami, Jan, Cuadrado, Sara, Dartois, Emmanuel, Dicken, Daniel, Elyajouri, Meriem, Fuente, Asunción, Goicoechea, Javier R, Gordon, Karl D, Issa, Lina, Joblin, Christine, Kannavou, Olga, Khan, Baria, Lacinbala, Ozan, Languignon, David, Le Gal, Romane, Maragkoudakis, Alexandros, Meshaka, Raphael, Okada, Yoko, Onaka, Takashi, Pasquini, Sofia, Pound, Marc W, Robberto, Massimo, Röllig, Markus, Schefter, Bethany, Schirmer, Thiébaut, Simmer, Thomas, Tabone, Benoit, Tielens, Alexander G G M, Vicente, Sílvia, Wolfire, Mark G, Aleman, Isabel, Allamandola, Louis, Auchettl, Rebecca, Baratta, Giuseppe Antonio, Baruteau, Clément, Bejaoui, Salma, Bera, Partha P, Black, John H, Boulanger, Francois, Bouwman, Jordy, Brandl, Bernhard, Brechignac, Philippe, Brünken, Sandra, Buragohain, Mridusmita, Burkhardt, Andrew, Candian, Alessandra, Cazaux, Stéphanie, Cernicharo, Jose, Chabot, Marin, Chakraborty, Shubhadip, Champion, Jason, Colgan, Sean W J, Cooke, Ilsa R, Coutens, Audrey, Cox, Nick L J, Demyk, Karine, Meyer, Jennifer Donovan, Engrand, Cécile, Foschino, Sacha, García-Lario, Pedro, Gavilan, Lisseth, Gerin, Maryvonne, Godard, Marie, Gottlieb, Carl A, Guillard, Pierre, Gusdorf, Antoine, Hartigan, Patrick, He, Jinhua, Herbst, Eric, Hornekaer, Liv, Jäger, Cornelia, Janot-Pacheco, Eduardo, Kaufman, Michael, Kemper, Francisca, Kendrew, Sarah, Kirsanova, Maria S, Knight, Collin, Kwok, Sun, Labiano, Álvaro, Lai, Thomas S-Y, Lee, Timothy J, Lefloch, Bertrand
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The American Association for the Advancement of Science 01.03.2024; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Subjects: Astrophysics; Ionization; Irradiation; Low mass stars; Massive stars; Orion nebula; Photons; Physics; Planet formation; Protoplanetary disks; Stars; Ultraviolet radiation
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.adh2861

Most low-mass stars form in stellar clusters that also contain massive stars, which are sources of far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation. Theoretical models predict that this FUV radiation produces photodissociation regions (PDRs) on the surfaces of protoplanetary disks around low-mass stars, which affects planet formation within the disks. We report James Webb Space Telescope and Atacama Large Millimeter Array observations of a FUV-irradiated protoplanetary disk in the Orion Nebula. Emission lines are detected from the PDR; modeling their kinematics and excitation allowed us to constrain the physical conditions within the gas. We quantified the mass-loss rate induced by the FUV irradiation and found that it is sufficient to remove gas from the disk in less than a million years. This is rapid enough to affect giant planet formation in the disk.