arXiv subjects

Jake Byrne

Publications and source records attributed to Jake Byrne.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Planetary gas gaps and kinematic signatures in the planet forming disk around WISPIT 2

The giant planet formation process in disks of gas and dust surrounding young stars is observationally still poorly constrained. Direct detection of protoplanets within the disk remains limited with current facilities. Indirect observational evidence of protoplanets through substructures or deviations from Keplerian rotation in the gas remains ambiguous in absence of detected planets. The lack of the combined detection of substructures and their corresponding planets makes it challenging to connect the planet formation process to the host environment. Observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) reveal clear detections of gas gaps and kinematic signatures in the WISPIT 2 protoplanetary disk that are cospatial with the locations of previously detected giant protoplanets. The newly identified gas gaps, observed in both the 12CO integrated intensity map and its rotation curve, correspond with the previously identified gaps in scattered light. Their morphologies are shown to be consistent with eccentric gaps, as expected from planet-disk interaction models of massive planets. The lack of eccentricity in the outer disk can be explained if a third planet is present in the system. The observations of WISPIT 2 provide a long-sought empirical bridge between kinematic signatures, gas gaps and giant planet formation in disks.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2026

Young system development in a cometary globule: An investigation into the eccentric disk around AT Pyx in terms of planet-formation and interaction with its surrounding environment

This paper presents new data and analyses of the AT Pyx system, a disk-hosting young star located in a cometary globule in the Gum Nebula. This radiation-driven structure is an unusual environment for observations of planet formation and differs greatly from the low-mass star-forming regions disks are most commonly observed in. Aided by a collection of visual and spectroscopic data available for this system, this paper aims to infer the possibility of embedded planets existing within the disk and how the system's environment may affect its disk morphology. Using data from the VLT's instruments XSHOOTER, ESPRESSO and - most prominently - SPHERE along with data from ALMA, we make a variety of measurements (geometric, photometric and otherwise) to characterise the observed disk features and attributes such as spiral arms and eccentricity. Mapping of the velocity components is also undertaken using the ALMA gas line data to characterise disk orientation and determine the likelihood that the system is experiencing a late-stage infall event. The disk is found to be eccentric when deprojected. Under the assumption that the formation of a planet is wholly responsible for the primary and secondary spiral arms, we find the mass of such a planet can range between 0.004 and 3 Jupiter masses. Measurement of the velocities associated with nearby globule cloud material returns reasonable velocities for a late-stage infall event. We estimate far-ultraviolet field strength at AT Pyx's location to be low in comparison to other surveyed disks. We also find that AT Pyx is possibly a binary system. AT Pyx is the first disk within a cometary globule to be spatially resolved, and is now the first such disk to be investigated to this extent. The work of this paper could potentially be a first step into the further study of disks in the moderate-FUV environment of the Gum Nebula and its globules.

astro-ph.EP↗

arXiv2025

WIde Separation Planets In Time (WISPIT): A Gap-clearing Planet in a Multi-ringed Disk around the Young Solar-type Star WISPIT 2

In the past decades several thousand exoplanet systems have been discovered around evolved, main-sequence stars, revealing a wide diversity in their architectures. To understand how the planet formation process can lead to vastly different outcomes in system architecture we have to study the starting conditions of planet formation within the disks around young stars. In this study we are presenting high resolution direct imaging observations with VLT/SPHERE of the young ($\sim$5 Myr), nearby ($\sim$133 pc), solar-analog designated as WISPIT 2($=$ TYC~5709-354-1). These observations were taken as part of our survey program that explores the formation and orbital evolution of wide-separation gas giants. WISPIT 2 was observed in four independent epochs using polarized light and total intensity observations. They reveal for the first time an extended (380 au) disk in scattered light with a multi-ringed sub-structure. We directly detect a young proto-planet WISPIT 2b, embedded in a disk gap and show that it is co-moving with its host star. Multiple SPHERE epochs demonstrate that it shows orbital motion consistent with Keplerian motion in the observed disk gap. Our $H$ and $K_s$-band photometric data are consistent with thermal emission from a young planet. By comparison with planet evolutionary models, we find a mass of the planet of $4.9^{+0.9}_{-0.6}$ Jupiter masses. This mass is also consistent with the width of the observed disk gap, retrieved from hydrodynamic models. WISPIT 2b is the first unambiguous planet detection in a multi-ringed disk, making the WISPIT 2 system the ideal laboratory to study planet-disk interaction and subsequent evolution.

astro-ph.EP↗