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Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy

UV radiation from massive stars prevents formation of Jupiter-like planet

29 February 2024

An international team of scientists including Alessandra Candian and Annemieke Petrignani of the University of Amsterdam has used space telescope Hubble and the ALMA observatory to show that UV radiation from massive stars can prevent planets from forming. The researchers publish their findings March 1 in Science.
The protoplanetary disk d203-506 (bottom left) suffers so much from the UV radiation from heavy stars in the Trapezium cluster (top right) that a Jupiter-like planet-in-formation cannot form.
The protoplanetary disk d203-506 (bottom left) suffers so much from the UV radiation from heavy stars in the Trapezium cluster (top right) that a Jupiter-like planet-in-formation cannot form.

The team studied the Orion Nebula, a known stellar nursery. The astronomers found that a Jupiter-like planet-in-formation in protoplanetary disk d203-506 could not form because heavy stars in the Trapezium cluster nearby produce intense UV radiation. The UV radiation causes gas to be ejected from the protoplanetary disk. This leaves too little gas to form a planet.

Scientific article
A far-ultraviolet-driven photoevaporation flow observed in a protoplanetary disk. Door: Olivier Berné, Emilie Habart, Els Peeters, Ilane Schroetter, Amelie Canin, Ameek Sidhu, Ryan Chown, Emeric Bron, Thomas J. Haworth, Pamela Klaassen, Boris Trahin, Dries Van De Putte, Felipe Alarcon, Marion Zannese, Alain Abergel, Edwin A. Bergin, Jeronimo Bernard-Salas, Christiaan Boersma, Jan Cami, Sara Cuadrado, Emmanuel Dartois, Daniel Dicken, Meriem El-Yajouri, Asuncion Fuente, Javier R. Goicoechea, Karl D. Gordon, Lina Issa, Christine Joblin, Olga Kannavou, Baria Khan, Ozan Lacinbala, David Languignon, Romane Le Gal, Alexandros Maragkoudakis, Raphael Meshaka, Yoko Okada, Takashi Onaka, Sofia Pasquini, Marc W. Pound, Massimo Robberto, Markus Rollig, Bethany Schefter, Thiebaut Schirmer, Thomas Simmer, Benoit Tabone, Alexander G.G.M. Tielens, Silvia Vicente, Mark G. Wolfire & PDRs4All team. Science, 1 maart 2024. [Original]