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Mayank Narang

Publications and source records attributed to Mayank Narang.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk). XXIV: Systematic Investigation of Disk Structures based on Visibility Analysis

The dust continuum emission from young protostellar disks encodes key information about their mass distribution and early evolution, yet uniform high-resolution comparative studies remain limited. We present a systematic uv-plane analysis of parametric intensity models applied to ALMA Band-6 (1.3 mm) observations of 23 disks (19 protostellar systems with 4 being in binary) from the eDisk sample, spanning Gaussian profiles to power-law cores with exponential tails (PLCT), including asymmetric extensions. Gaussian models generally fail to reproduce the centrally peaked emission and extended outer structure observed in most disks, whereas the PLCT framework provides a significantly improved description of radial brightness profiles. Incorporating azimuthal asymmetries further reduces residuals in 15 of 17 inclined disks, indicating that departures from axisymmetry are common at early stages. Only two disks, L1489 IRS and Oph IRS63, exhibit clear gap and ring substructures, while most appear smooth at the spatial resolution and sensitivity of our observations. These systems are among the most evolved in the sample, and the absence of flat-spectrum sources limits the evolutionary range probed, {suggesting that the detection of prominent gaps and rings is not common} in the earliest phases of disk evolution. Using a uniform definition of disk radius based on the 95\% enclosed flux, we find a positive correlation with stellar mass, $R_{\rm disk} \propto M_{\star}^{1.5 \pm 0.1}$, with disks in binary systems systematically smaller than those around isolated protostars. While the models capture overall morphology and large-scale asymmetries, distinguishing intrinsic structures from radiative transfer effects in optically thick regions remains challenging.

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JWST-MIRI's multi-dimensional view of mass loss in the irradiated disks of NGC 1977

The evolution of protoplanetary disks, and consequently the outcomes of planet formation, are thought to be significantly altered in regions containing massive stars. Extreme cases in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) demonstrate the impact of external irradiation (FUV$\gtrsim10^{4}$ G$_{0}$) on disk evolution, but intermediate environments remain less observationally constrained. We present JWST/MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS) observations of seven proplyds in NGC 1977 exposed to an external FUV field of $10^{3}-10^{5}$ G$_{0}$ from the B1V star 42 Orionis (42 Ori). We characterize emission from molecular (H$_{2}$) and atomic (e.g., [Ne II], [Ar II], HI) species, and in some cases, MIRI reveals extended emission tracing the proplyd ionization front and wind. The closest disk to 42 Ori, KCFF#1, is undergoing extreme mass loss, traced by a 1000s-of-au-long dusty tail, and lacks clear H$_{2}$ or HI emission, indicating an advanced stage of dispersal. The remaining six disks exhibit two-temperature components of H$_{2}$ emission (500--700 K and 1000--1500 K), likely tracing the disk molecular layer and a photoevaporative wind, alongside HI lines which are used to estimate mass accretion rates. When comparing KCFF#2 and #6, which have similar host stars, KCFF#2 (closer to 42 Ori) is dominated by externally driven mass loss, with extended molecular and atomic emission, whereas KCFF#6 only shows extended H$_{2}$ emission, with roughly equal contributions from accretion and external mass loss. While the sample is small, this work demonstrates how JWST/MIRI can assess environmental impacts on disk evolution, with NGC 1977 bridging strongly irradiated disks in the ONC and the more local population.

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IPA: Morphology and Kinematics of Molecular Hydrogen Winds in Five Young Protostars across the Mass Spectrum Observed with JWST

Molecular winds may play a key role in governing angular momentum transport and accretion during the early evolution of protostars. We present the morphology and kinematic properties of the H$_2$ emission in five young, envelope-dominated, protostars across a broad bolometric luminosity range, from 0.2 to $10^4~L_{\odot}$, observed with the NIRSpec/IFU and MIRI/MRS onboard JWST as part of the Investigating Protostellar Accretion (IPA) program. A rich set of pure rotational lines of H$_2$, up to $v=0-0$ S(18), and a few ro-vibrational lines are detected in the winds, revealing bipolar structures. The H$_2$ lines show a stratified/onion-like structure morphologically and kinematically, where the lines with higher $E_{\rm up}$ show a higher degree of collimation and higher velocities. Additionally, the wind velocity scales with the $L_{\rm bol}$ of the host protostellar system. In 4 out of 5 protostars, H$_2$ emission fills the outflow cavity without showing pronounced limb brightening. We also report a tentative detection of H$_2$ wind rotation in IRAS 16253, which suggests a launch radius of $\sim4$ au and the magnetic lever arm parameter of $\sim5-10$. Taken together, these properties of the H$_2$ winds can be explained by the magnetohydrodynamic disk wind models. We detect a collimated, high-velocity H$_2$ jet toward HOPS 370, which is more evolved than the extremely young source HH 211, but is accreting at a high accretion rate. This suggests that the presence of collimated molecular jets in protostars is more closely connected to accretion rate than system age.

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JWST/MIRI Detection of Molecular H$_2$ Winds from an Edge-on Class II Source HV Tau C

The evolution of protoplanetary disks is regulated by accretion onto the central star and mass loss through jets and winds. While atomic and ionized outflows are commonly observed, molecular winds in evolved Class II disks remain rarely detected. We characterize the spatial, thermal, kinematic, and dynamical properties of molecular hydrogen (H$_2$) emission from the nearly edge-on Class II disk HV Tau C and assess the impact of its molecular wind. We also constrain accretion using H I recombination lines detected in the same mid-infrared spectrum. Using JWST/MIRI-MRS data from the MINDS Cycle 1 GTO program, we analyze spatially resolved pure-rotational H$_2$ emission. Rotational and position-velocity diagrams constrain excitation and kinematics, from which we estimate wind properties. We detect extended H$_2$ emission tracing a wide-angled, biconical molecular wind extending beyond the near-infrared scattered-light disk, ALMA 887 $\mu$m dust continuum, and compact $^{12}$CO ($J=3$-$2$) gas disk. The H$_2$ rotational diagram requires warm ($\sim$600K) and hot ($\sim$2000K) components, similar to those in younger protostars. The gas shows outward motions of a few tens of km s$^{-1}$ and dynamical timescales of tens to hundreds of years. The inferred mass-loss rate is $\sim10^{-8}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, while accretion rates derived from H I lines are $10^{-10}$-$10^{-8}$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$. The accretion rate may be underestimated because of the edge-on geometry. Our results show that wide-angled molecular H$_2$ winds can persist into the Class II phase, with outflow rates comparable to some protostellar systems, suggesting that such winds may remain important for angular momentum removal, disk evolution, and dispersal. (Abstract modified; see the paper for the full version.)

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The JDISC Survey: Inner Disk Chemistry of Class I/FS Disks and Tentative Evidence for Early Pebble Drift

We present the first chemical survey of Class I and Flat-Spectrum (I/FS) disks using JWST MIRI/MRS, targeting sixteen sources in the Ophiuchus star-forming region. Through empirical line luminosity measurements and multi-component slab modeling, we characterize the molecular reservoir of these young systems and compare them to twelve Class II disks of similar stellar mass. Water, HCN, C$_2$H$_2$, and CO$_2$ are frequently detected in I/FS sources with inclinations $i < 70^{\circ}$, whereas edge-on systems show significantly suppressed emission. Compared to Class II disks, I/FS sources show suggestive---though not yet statistically significant---evidence for elevated cold water ($\sim$200\,K) mass and lower CO$_2$ excitation temperatures. Statistical analyses identify accretion luminosity as the primary correlate of molecular mass across both evolutionary stages. Once this dependence is removed, cold water and CO$_2$ masses anti-correlate with mm-dust disk radius, while hot water remains insensitive to disk size. These patterns are qualitatively consistent with pebble drift models that predict early water enrichment followed by delayed CO$_2$ delivery, suggesting an evolutionary progression from molecular-poor Class 0 sources, through water-rich Class I/FS disks, to Class II disks with reduced cold water excess. This work provides an initial evolutionary framework for disk chemistry that requires larger, multi-region samples to confirm.

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Discovering and Characterising Exoplanets and Ultracool Dwarfs with the Square Kilometre Array

The majority of the Solar System planets are sources of bright radio emission, driven by energetic electrons trapped within each planet's magnetic field. Detection of this emission from exoplanets provides a unique opportunity to characterise their magnetic fields, which is key to determining the atmospheric evolution of exoplanets. However, a conclusive detection of radio emission from an exoplanet remains at large, primarily due to a lack of sensitivity at low radio frequencies. On the other hand, planet-like radio signatures have been detected on objects called ultracool dwarfs (UCDs) for over two decades. UCDs are of comparable sizes to Jupiter, but are more massive. They also possess similar interior structures to Jupiter, the region where magnetic fields are generated. Therefore, UCDs are ideal targets to study to advance our understanding of how magnetic fields manifest at planetary scales. In this Chapter, we outline the revolutionary role that the Square Kilometre Array will play in the study of exoplanets and UCDs. We anticipate that it will facilitate the first detection of radio emission from giant exoplanets with strong magnetic fields, and will deliver thousands of detections of UCDs within a few hundred parsecs. Combined with very long baseline interferometry, we also expect that astrometric monitoring will enable the detection of planets of a few Earth masses orbiting nearby radio-emitting UCDs. These findings will open a new window into how planets form and evolve in extrasolar systems.

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JWST Edge-on Disk Ice (JEDIce): Vibrationally hot, rotationally cold H$_2$ in the outer disk of Oph 163131 non-thermally excited by UV and cosmic rays

Constraining ionization and excitation processes in protoplanetary disks is essential for understanding the chemical structure and evolution of disk material, shaping planet formation pathways. We present JWST/NIRSpec IFU observations of the edge-on disk Oph 163131, which reveal a unusual ro-vibrational H$_2$ spectrum dominated by the 1--0 O(2) line (2.627 $\mu$m), with suppressed higher-$J$ emission despite excitation to $v=2$ and $3$. This vibrationally hot, rotationally cold H$_2$ emission is spatially extended, broadly following the molecular disk traced by CO($J{=}2$--1), with emission increasing above and below a thin midplane dark lane and extending radially beyond $\sim$200 au, where near-IR scattered-light emission is no longer dominant. We interpret the observed H$_2$ emission as arising from non-thermal excitation in cold, dense outer-disk gas, where collisions depopulate higher-$J$ rotational levels within each vibrational manifold prior to emission, producing the characteristic ``$v$-hot, $J$-cold" spectrum. We consider both ultraviolet irradiation and cosmic-ray excitation as contributors to the H$_2$ emission and find that their combined action, together with collisional de-excitation of high-$J$ level populations, broadly reproduces the observed line ratios and morphology. Within this framework, we infer a rather high effective cosmic-ray ionization rate of $\sim(1$-$10)\times10^{-15}$ s$^{-1}$ in the presence of a moderate UV field ($\chi_{UV}=100-1000$, in Draine units). These results for disks, together with the recent findings by Bialy et al. 2025 for the lower-density starless core B68, highlight the potential of ro-vibrational H$_2$ emission as a novel probe of cosmic-ray ionization.

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Star Planet Interactions

Star-planet interactions (SPIs) describe the continuous exchange of energy, momentum, and mass between exoplanets and their host stars through radiative, tidal, magnetic, and particle-driven processes. Together, these interactions shape the structure, evolution, and observable properties of exoplanetary systems. In this review, we bring together current theoretical and observational understanding of SPIs, highlighting how stellar radiation, winds, and magnetic activity influence planetary atmospheres, interiors, and orbital evolution, while using the Solar System as a valuable reference for interpreting these processes. High-energy stellar radiation, particularly in the far- and extreme-ultraviolet and X-ray bands, drives atmospheric heating, photochemistry, ionisation, and escape. These effects are further influenced by stellar winds and magnetic interactions, which can either protect planetary atmospheres or accelerate their loss over time. Tidal interactions redistribute energy and angular momentum, producing internal heating and driving orbital migration and circularisation. Magnetic star-planet coupling provides additional pathways for energy transfer through reconnection and current systems, potentially enhancing atmospheric escape, heating planetary ionospheres and interiors, and generating observable signatures such as radio emission and enhanced stellar activity. We discuss how these processes work together, emphasising that their long-term impact depends on stellar evolution, planetary properties, atmospheric structure, and magnetic field strength. By presenting radiative, tidal, and magnetic interactions within a unified framework, this review highlights the physical mechanisms that shape planetary environments and identifies the key observational signatures that will complement future studies of exoplanet evolution and habitability.

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Demographics of planet-forming disks with the SKAO

Understanding how solid material in planet-forming disks evolves from micron-sized dust to planetary cores is a central challenge in modern astrophysics. This study has advanced dramatically in the past decade, largely driven by ALMA and high-contrast imaging facilities. However, major uncertainties remain regarding the presence, evolution, and role of centimeter-sized grains (the pebbles) in planet formation. The SKAO will fill this gap by enabling the first large-scale, high-resolution survey of disk emission at centimeter wavelengths. This chapter presents the scientific rationale and observational strategies to detect and characterize pebbles in the planet-forming disks of nearby star-forming regions. By resolving their spatial distribution, spectral properties, and evolutionary trends, SKA will offer essential constraints on dust growth and disk dynamics. This work provides observational strategies, target selection, and predictions on the detectability of hundreds of nearby disks. The chapter also explores SKA's potential to uncover the actual dust mass in disks, protoplanets and their circumplanetary disks, and other aspects of the planet formation. Together, these capabilities will establish SKAO as a cornerstone facility for planet formation science in the coming decade.

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Unveiling Complex Chemistry in Planet-forming Disks with the SKAO

The chemical composition of planets is inherited from that of the natal protoplanetary disk at the time of planet formation. In recent years, we have made huge progress in characterizing disk chemistry. (Sub-)millimeter interferometers, such as ALMA, allowed us to detect emission lines from simple to complex organic molecules and to probe their radial and vertical distribution in disks. On the other hand, JWST has started to unveil the composition of disk ices, and line emission from the innermost disk regions. The advent of SKA will open new domains in the field, by observing emission lines from heavier molecules including heavy carbon chains and rings, and prebiotic molecules with peak emission in the cm range. Moreover, SKA will probe molecular emission from regions which are obscured by dust opacity at mm wavelengths, hence from the disk midplane, and often from the inner 30 au region. These observations will constrain the initial conditions for disk evolution and planet formation, allowing us to predict the chemical composition of the forming planets and their atmospheres. Comparison with forthcoming results on exoplanet atmospheres and on the chemistry of pristine bodies in the Solar System will provide new hints on the origin and evolution of planetary systems including our own.

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Chemical Divergence and Water Depletion: Gas Properties of Evolved Upper Scorpius Disks Revealed by JWST/MIRI

Tracing the chemical evolution of protoplanetary disks over time requires observations of disks at different ages. However, most JWST/MIRI surveys published to date have targeted younger ($\sim$1-3 Myr) rather than older systems. We present the results of a JWST/MIRI MRS survey of the inner regions of 10 protoplanetary disks (ages $\sim$2-6 Myr, spectral types M0-M4.5) in the Upper Scorpius region previously characterized by the ALMA AGE-PRO large program. Using MCMC slab modeling, we fit to a wide variety of detected molecules, including H$_2$O, CO, C$_2$H$_2$, $^{13}$CCH$_2$, HCN, HC$_3$N, CO$_2$, $^{13}$CO$_2$, C$_2$H$_6$, C$_4$H$_2$, and OH, as well as C$_6$H$_6$, CH$_3$, and H$_2$ visually. We classify each disk along two independent axes-a Water Classification based on H$_2$O line luminosity (Water-Rich, Water-Poor, or Water-Absent) and a Chemotype based on the dominant non-water chemistry (Organic-Rich, CO$_2$-Dominated, or Molecule-Absent)-and find an unexpectedly high diversity of distinct chemical compositions within our population. We leverage the heterogeneity of detected molecules in our sample to present new characteristic "diagnostic" wavelength regions for most species. We find that carbon-based molecules consistently exhibit markedly lower excitation temperatures ($\lesssim$300 K) compared to younger ($\sim$1-3 Myr) star-forming regions ($\sim$600-1000 K), hinting at relatively colder molecular reservoirs. We also determine that Upper Scorpius disks show systematically lower water luminosities by factors of 10-1000. In particular, disks with strong carbon-based molecular features but no observed H$_2$O defy expectations of an inner-disk dust cavity or a low ($\lesssim3$) $R_{\rm gas}/R_{\rm dust}$ ratio, instead suggesting that the presence of a strong outer-disk dust trap largely controls the chemical outcome of the terrestrial planet-forming region.

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Probing the ubiquity of complex ices in protostars with JWST: the first systematic quantification of weak ice bands between 6.8 and 7.9 micron

Complex organic molecules (COMs) are the key to understanding the chemical evolution from simple interstellar molecules to potential prebiotic material. Although COMs have been extensively studied in the gas phase toward protostars, their counterparts in ices, where they are thought to form at earlier stages, remain far less constrained. A number of diagnostic features of complex ices lie between 6.8 and 8.8 um, a region known as the "COM ice fingerprint range," but previous infrared facilities lacked the sensitivity and spectral resolution required to quantify the weak bands therein. With the unprecedented sensitivity and resolving power of JWST, these limitations can now be overcome. Here, we present the first large-sample quantitative study of the absorption features at 7.02, 7.24, 7.40, and 7.67 um, using MIRI-MRS spectra of 21 protostars. The CH4 band at 7.67 um is the strongest band and shows remarkably uniform peak positions (7.67-7.68 um) and FWHMs (0.06-0.08 um), suggesting CH4 ice as its dominant carrier. The 7.24 and 7.40 um bands exhibit larger source-to-source variations in peak positions and FWHMs, but their occurrence and intensities are strongly correlated with each other. Comparisons with existing and new laboratory spectra suggest HCOO- as the most likely carrier of these two bands, yet HCOO- cannot fully reproduce their intensity ratios, implying additional contributions from other species such as C2H5OH, CH3CHO, and CH3COCH3. Our results reveal, for the first time, the potential ubiquity of weak features of complex ices in protostars, which have remained largely undetected due to observational limitations.

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Substructures in Planet-Forming Disks with the SKAO

Disks of gas and dust orbiting young stars are the arenas and material reservoirs for planet formation. Over the past decade, multiwavelength observations, from infrared to radio, have resolved the spatial distribution of hundreds of protoplanetary disks in nearby star-forming regions, revealing a diverse zoo of substructures. These substructures are morphological features such as rings, gaps, spirals, vortices, asymmetries, warps, or clumps that trace variations in density, temperature, or composition relative to an otherwise smooth distribution of gas and dust. Many unknowns persist as to the origin of these substructures, their role in planet assembly, and their true properties. SKA-Mid Band 5b continuum observations, offering angular resolutions of $\sim 0.05''$ ($\sim 0.15''$) with AA4 (AA*) at $12.5$ GHz / $2.4$ cm, will enable new progress at this frontier. In this chapter, we outline the open questions in the field of disk substructure that SKA-Mid is uniquely poised to address, with a lens on dust thermal emission.

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Jets and Outflows in Young Stellar Objects with the SKAO

Jets and outflows are ubiquitous phenomena associated with the formation of young stellar objects (YSOs). They play a crucial role in removing angular momentum from the accreting system and in regulating star-formation efficiency. Theoretical studies and observations with ALMA and VLA have shown that jets and winds may have a crucial role in promoting dust growth in the envelope-disc system and in shaping the physical and chemical properties of the surrounding environment. Despite these significant advances, many fundamental questions remain unanswered regarding the acceleration, collimation, and chemical impact of jets and outflows from YSOs. The SKA-project will overcome the limitations of current mm/cm-facilities by enabling high-angular resolution and high-sensitivity cm-observations, crucial for probing jets/outflows near YSOs. Radio recombination lines, combined with proper motions, offer a unique opportunity to study the 3D-kinematics of jets. Non-thermal linearly polarised synchrotron emission will allow measuring magnetic field strength and morphology at unprecedented scales of a few au. Observations of dust emission in outflow cavities will allow studying how dust grows and is eventually transported from the disc to the envelope and back. Finally, the SKA-project will allow exploring the dust composition and chemical enrichment in shocks, where sputtering/shattering of grains cause the release of their mantles and refractory cores in the gas-phase. Complementary to ALMA's detection of simple and complex organic molecules, the SKAO will probe, for the first time, long carbon chains/rings, several Cl-, Al-, Mg-, and other metal-bearing species (missed by current sub-mm facilities).

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Characterizing the Extended Molecular Hydrogen Winds in Protoplanetary Disks from the JWST Disk Infrared Spectroscopic Chemistry Survey

We present a comprehensive analysis of extended H$_2$ emission from 34 protoplanetary disks observed with the JWST Disk Infrared Spectroscopic Chemistry Survey (JDISCS), supplemented by archival data. We investigated the morphology, kinematics, excitation conditions, and mass dynamics of H$_2$. Extended emission from pure rotational H$_2$ lines is found to be common, with 16 sources exhibiting clear signatures of disk winds. These include monopolar and bipolar structures in inclined disks and ring-like or bubble-like morphologies in face-on systems features indicative of wide-angle disk winds. Our analysis shows that the H$_2$ is consistent with slow {(4.2$^{+6.7}_{-3.0}$ km s$^{-1}$)} MHD driven winds. For ten disks, we model the wind morphology and find a median half-opening angle of $45\arcdeg^{+5}_{-4}$ and a characteristic power-law index of $\alpha \sim$ 1.6. Excitation analysis yields a median gas temperature of 624 $\pm$ 130 K and a column density of $\log(N_{\mathrm{tot}}\,[\mathrm{cm}^{-2}]) = 18.6 \pm 0.6$. The median wind mass-loss rate, ${\rm log_{10}}(\dot{\rm M}_{\rm wind}^{\rm tot}) = -9_{-0.4}^{+0.8}\,{\rm M_\odot\,yr^{-1}}$, implies that, if molecular winds are the dominant mechanism responsible for disk dispersal, a typical disk with a mass of $2-3\,M_{\rm Jup}$ would dissipate on a $\sim$2-3 Myr timescale, consistent with observed disk lifetimes. The $\dot{\rm M}_{\mathrm{\rm wind}}^{\rm tot}$ span a relatively narrow range ($\sim$2 dex) and do not correlate strongly with accretion rates onto the star, suggesting that the mass loss rate and the accretion rates are probing different timescales. Our findings demonstrate that spatially extended warm H$_2$ emission is a widespread and reliable tracer of molecular disk winds in protoplanetary systems.

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JWST/MIRI Hydrocarbon and Water Absorption in the Wind of a Young Disk: Signatures of Pebble Drift and Carbon Grain Sublimation

We present JWST/MIRI-MRS observations of ISO-Oph 37, a highly inclined flat-spectrum ($\lesssim$1 Myr old) source, to investigate the chemical composition and dynamical origin of its inner-disk gas. The spectrum reveals a rich combination of molecular emission and absorption: H$_2$O, CO, and OH are detected in emission, while strong absorption is observed from CO, H$_2$O, CO$_2$, HCN, C$_2$H$_2$, and CH$_4$, with no detectable ice absorption features. LTE slab modeling of the absorption yields excitation temperatures of $T_{\rm ex}\sim400-600$ K and column densities of $\log N/{\rm cm}^{2}\sim16-19$, characteristic of warm gas located within the inner few au. The absorption lines are significantly blueshifted relative to the systemic velocity, with mid-IR lines exhibiting larger shifts than near-IR CO absorption. This velocity structure points to a velocity- and temperature-stratified molecular disk wind. In this framework, the absorption directly samples disk material lifted from the inner disk surface, preserving the chemical imprint of the wind-launching region. Along the line of sight, ISO-Oph 37 is unusually hydrocarbon-rich compared to other known absorption systems (GV Tau N and IRS 46), exhibiting high (C$_2$H$_2$+CH$_4$)/HCN, (C$_2$H$_2$+CH$_4$)/CO and H$_2$O/CO column density ratios, while the CO and HCN columns remain broadly typical. We find that these molecular ratios are best explained by enhancement of both hydrocarbons and water, driven by inward drift and sublimation of icy pebbles and by thermal processing of carbonaceous grains at the soot line. ISO-Oph 37 thus demonstrates that carbon-rich inner-disk chemistry can be established early in disk evolution and that it can be directly probed through molecular absorption in disk winds.

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JWST Edge-on Disk Ice (JEDIce): Program overview and ice survey results

The icy material within protoplanetary disks plays a central role in planet formation, yet remains poorly characterized by observations. We present 1.6-28$\mu$m spectra of five disks obtained as part of the JWST Edge-on Disk Ice (JEDIce) program, representing the largest survey of disk ices to date. The major ice species H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and CO are detected towards all disks, and exhibit a wide range of absolute optical depths and optical depth ratios across the sample. This is suggestive of a range of ice abundances and compositions, but quantitative constraints will require radiative transfer modeling. All disks exhibit ice features across the entire spatial region where the IR continuum is detected; vertically elevated ice grains therefore seem to be ubiquitous in disks. The CO ice is consistently dominated by apolar CO:CO$_2$ mixtures, implying that the disk ice compositions are neither completely reset nor pristinely inherited from the protostellar stage. The presence of these mixtures also suggests that entrapment may be important in shaping the spatial distribution of CO within the disks. Small molecules commonly seen in protostellar ices (CH$_4$, CH$_3$OH, NH$_3$) are generally not detected in our sample, though tracers of ammonium salts (OCN$^-$ and the 6.85 $\mu$m band) are common, potentially reflecting an evolution towards comet-like ice compositions. The spectra also contain a wealth of information about the micron-sized dust, atomic and molecular gas, and PAH content, which together with the ice constraints will provide a comprehensive picture of the chemical, physical, and dynamical state of these systems.

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Early Planet Formation in Embedded Disks (eDisk). XVIII. Indication of a possible spiral structure in the dust-continuum emission of the protostellar disk around IRAS 16544-1604 in CB 68

We performed numerical simulations along with radiative transfer calculations to reproduce an intriguing asymmetric shoulder feature in the dust-continuum emission of the protostellar disk around one of the eDisk targets, the Class 0 protostar IRAS 16544-1604 in CB 68. This is our first attempt to bridge the theoretical works of protostellar disk evolution and the eDisk observations. We found that while our hydrodynamic simulations form spiral structures caused by gravitational instability, they become less discernible after the disk is inclined and convolved with the telescope beam. The widths of the spiral structure as obtained by our numerical simulations are ~0.1-0.8 times the eDisk beam size of 4.5 au. Our modeling effor implies that the apparent absence of spiral features in the eDisk observations does not necessarily indicate the real absence of internal substructures and gravitational instability. We also found that the asymmetric shoulder structure of the continuum profile along the major axis appears when the disk is massive enough with a Toomre parameter Q~1. This mechanism offers a potential explanation for the observed, asymmetric shoulder features in the disks surrounding IRAS 16544-1604 and the other eDisk sources.

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