ALMA Study of Binary Star Formation

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16H07086
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Field: Astronomy
• Research Institution: Kagoshima University
• Principal Investigator: TAKAKUWA Shigehisa 鹿児島大学, 理工学域理学系, 教授 (50777555)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-08-26 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: 連星系形成 / ALMA望遠鏡

Outline of Final Research Achievements

To understand how twin stars orbiting around each other, binaries, form, we have performed Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of circumbinary disks of molecular gas and dusts in protostellar binaries. We found that in the protostellar binary L1551 NE the circumbinary disk consists of two-arm features, and the materials in the circumbinary disk is being accreted onto the protostellar binary. ALMA observations of another protostellar binary, L1551 IRS 5, on the other hand, do not reveal such arm-like structures in the circumbinary disk. These results imply that mass accretion onto the protostellar binary should depend on the binary mass ratio and the centrifugal radii of the circumbinary disk.

Free Research Field

電波天文学