arXiv subjects

Nuria Huélamo

Publications and source records attributed to Nuria Huélamo.

12 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Destructuring the disk of AB Aurigae: Dynamics and accretion

In this paper, we present near-IR polarized images of the AB Aur disk at three epochs spanning 3.85 years with SPHERE/IRDIS, as well as Halpha images obtained with SPHERE/ZIMPOL at a single epoch. The purpose of this study is to analyze the dynamics of the entire disk and of the various structures in near-IR polarimetry, and to identify sources of Halpha emission to derive constraints on their mass accretion rate. The dynamical study in the near-IR shows that the disk globally follows Keplerian rotation, but we observe a departure from this behavior at radii smaller than ~60au. At the smallest radius of ~25au, we measure a deviation from Keplerian rotation as large as ~12deg over 3.85 years, demonstrating sub-Keplerian rotation. The two bright spirals within the millimeter cavity have different dynamic trends, and we discuss their possible link with the identified planet candidates. We also discuss the implications of the non-Keplerian behavior, and we posit that it could be related to interactions with multiple protoplanets orbiting out of the disk plane on elliptical orbits. Furthermore, the orbital analysis of the compact sources (labeled f1, f2, and f3) suggests that their orbital planes are significantly inclined with respect to the disk plane by several tens of degrees. The variability of the shadows suggests that they are produced by optically thick regions located within ~60au. For the photometric analysis in Halpha, we derive a flux of about 8.22x10^{-15} erg/s/cm^2 for the entire feature f1, but only 6.46x10^{-16} erg/s/cm^2 at the location of AB Aur b, consistent with non-detection. If f1 were a point source and the accretion remained constant for 1Myr, it would correspond to ~5-20 Jupiter masses according to the magnetospheric accretion model or ~6-10 Jupiter masses according to the boundary layer accretion model.

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arXiv2026

Estimating the Luminosities of Protostars with Limited Infrared Photometry

The luminosities of protostars provide one of the only indirect methods of measuring their masses and mass accretion rates in their earliest stages of evolution. Accurate measurements of protostellar luminosities traditionally requires assembling complete spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from the near-infrared through millimeter wavelengths. In this work, we use published evolutionary radiative transfer models of collapsing protostellar cores to evaluate the extent to which protostellar luminosities can be estimated from a limited number of infrared photometric measurements. We confirm previous results showing a tight correlation (in log-log space) between the luminosity of a protostar and its flux at 70 microns, although we demonstrate that these previous results yield luminosity estimates that are too low by factors of 2-3. We expand this work to additional wavelengths, finding that single wavelengths at 40 - 350 microns provide luminosity estimates with a 1sigma uncertainty of a factor of 3 (0.477 dex of solar luminosities) or lower, with the uncertainty reduced to a factor of 2 (0.301 dex of solar luminosities) or lower at 70 - 160 microns. While the shorter wavelengths observed by JWST (0.6 - 27.9 microns) do not correlate as well with luminosity, we demonstrate that using a single photometric measurement in two different JWST filters simultaneously can result in luminosity estimates that are less uncertain than even the best estimates obtained using a single JWST filter. Using a single photometric measurement in three different JWST filters simultaneously can result in luminosity estimates that are comparable in accuracy to those obtained using single far-infrared photometric flux measurements.

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arXiv2026

Astrometric view of companions in the inner dust cavities of protoplanetary disks

Protoplanetary disks with inner dust cavities (often referred to as "transition disks") are potential signposts of planet formation. We use Gaia astrometry to search for planetary and stellar companions in a sample of 98 transition disks, assessing the occurrence rate of such companions and their potential influence on cavity formation. For the 98 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), we compute Gaia proper motion anomalies which, together with the RUWE, identify companions with mass ratios $q \gtrsim 0.01$ at $\sim$0.1-30 au. We assess the impact of disk gravity, accretion, disk-scattered light, dippers, starspots, jets, and outflows on the measured proper motion anomalies, concluding that astrometric techniques such as the one of this work can be robustly applied to YSOs. Significant proper motion anomalies are found in 31 transition disks (32% of the sample), indicative of companions. We recover 85% of known companions within our sensitivity range. We model the semi-major axis and mass required for a companion to reproduce the observed astrometric signals. Most inferred companions have $M > 30$ M$\rm{_{J}}$, placing many within or near the stellar mass regime. Seven sources host companions compatible with a planetary mass ($M < 13$ M$\rm{_{J}}$, HD 100453, J04343128+1722201, J16102955-3922144, MHO6, MP Mus, PDS 70, and Sz 76). For the non-detections, we provide the companion masses and semi-major axes that can be excluded in future searches. About half (53%) of detected companions cannot be reconciled with having carved the observed dust cavities. We find that transition disks host as many companions within our sensitivity range as do randomly sampled groups of YSOs and main-sequence stars. If dust cavities are shaped by companions, such companions must reside at larger orbital separations than those of the companions detected here, and we predict them to be of planetary mass. [abridged]

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arXiv2025

Hints of Disk Substructure in the First Brown Dwarf with a Dynamical Mass Constraint

We present high-resolution ALMA observations at 0.89 mm of the Class II brown dwarf 2MASS J04442713+2512164 (2M0444), achieving a spatial resolution of 0$.\!\!^{\prime\prime}$046 ($\sim$6.4 au at the distance to the source). These observations targeted continuum emission together with $^{12}$CO (3-2) molecular line. The line emission traces a Keplerian disk, allowing us to derive a dynamical mass between 0.043-0.092 M${_{\odot}}$ for the central object. We constrain the gas-to-dust disk size ratio to be $\sim$7, consistent with efficient radial drift. However, the observed dust emission suggest that a dust trap is present, enough to retain some dust particles. We perform visibility fitting of the continuum emission, and under the assumption of annular substructure, our best fit shows a gap and a ring at 98.1$^{+4.2}_{-8.4}$ mas ($\sim$14 au) and 116.0$^{+4.2}_{-4.8}$ mas ($\sim$16 au), respectively, with a gap width of 20 mas ($\sim$3 au). To ensure robustness, the data were analyzed through a variety of methods in both the image and uv plane, employing multiple codes and approaches. This tentative disk structure could be linked to a possible planetary companion in the process of formation. These results provide the first dynamical mass of the lowest mass object to date, together with the possible direct detection of a substructure, offering new insights into disk dynamics and planet formation in the very low-mass regime. Future higher spatial resolution ALMA observations will be essential to confirm these findings and further investigate the link between substructures and planet formation in brown dwarf disks.

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arXiv2024

Imaging the jet of MWC 349A with resolved Radio Recombination Line emission from ALMA

Jets and disk winds arise from materials with excess angular momentum ejected from the accretion disks in forming stars. How these structures are launched and how they impact the gas within the innermost regions of these objects remains poorly understood. MWC349A is a massive star that has a circumstellar disk which rotates in accord with Kepler's Law, with an ionized wind and a high-velocity jet launched from the disk surface. The strongly maser-amplified emission of hydrogen radio recombination lines (RRLs) observed toward this system provides a comprehensive picture of its ionized environment with exquisite detail. In this Letter, we present ALMA observations of the H26$α$ RRL and continuum emission obtained with the highest angular resolution ever used toward this source (beam of $\sim$0.02"). The maser RRL emission is resolved for the first time and clearly delineates the ionized disk, wind and jet. We analyzed the RRL data cubes with the 3D non-LTE radiative transfer model MORELI, confirming that the jet is poorly collimated. We found that the jet orientation is closer to the rotation axis of the system than derived from spatially unresolved data. This study confirms that hydrogen RRL masers are powerful probes of the physical structure and kinematics of the innermost ionized material around massive stars.

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arXiv2023

Substellar science in the wake of the ESA Euclid space mission

The ESA space mission Euclid was launched on July 1st, 2023 and is undergoing its science verification phase. In this invited review we show that Euclid means a before and an after for our understanding of ultra-cool dwarfs and substellar-mass objects and their connections with stars, exoplanets and the Milky Way. Euclid enables the study with unprecedented statistical significance a very large ensemble of ultracool dwarfs, the identification of new types of substellar objects, and the determination of the substellar binary fraction and the Initial Mass Function (IMF) in diverse galactic environments from the nearest stellar nurseries to the ancient relics of Galactic formation.

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arXiv2023

Modeling of the high-velocity jet powered by the massive star MWC 349A

MWC 349A is a massive star with a well-known circumstellar disk rotating following a Keplerian law, and an ionized wind launched from the disk surface. Recent ALMA observations carried out toward this system have however revealed an additional high-velocity component in the strong, maser emission of hydrogen radio recombination lines (RRLs), suggesting the presence of a high-velocity ionized jet. In this work, we present 3D non-LTE radiative transfer modeling of the emission of the H30$α$ and H26$α$ maser lines, and of their associated radio continuum emission, toward the MWC 349A massive star. By using the MORELI code, we reproduce the spatial distribution and kinematics of the high-velocity emission of the H30$α$ and H26$α$ maser lines with a high-velocity ionized jet expanding at a velocity of $\sim$ 250 km s$^{-1}$, surrounded by MWC 349A's wide-angle ionized wind. The bipolar jet, which is launched from MWC 349A's disk, is poorly collimated and slightly miss-aligned with respect to the disk rotation axis. Thanks to the unprecedented sensitivity and spatial accuracy provided by ALMA, we also find that the already known, wide-angle ionized wind decelerates as it expands radially from the ionized disk. We briefly discuss the implications of our findings in understanding the formation and evolution of massive stars. Our results show the huge potential of RRL masers as powerful probes of the innermost ionized regions around massive stars and of their high-velocity jets.

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arXiv2023

Tentative co-orbital submillimeter emission within the Lagrangian region L5 of the protoplanet PDS 70 b

Context: High-spatial resolution Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) data have revealed a plethora of substructures in protoplanetary disks. Some of those features are thought to trace the formation of embedded planets. One example is the gas and dust that accumulated in the co-orbital Lagrangian regions $L_4$/$L_5$, which were tentatively detected in recent years and might be the pristine material for the formation of Trojan bodies. Aims: This work is part of the TROY project, whose ultimate goal is to find robust evidence of exotrojan bodies and study their implications in the exoplanet field. Here, we focus on the early stages of the formation of these bodies by inspecting the iconic system PDS 70, the only confirmed planetary system in formation. Methods: We reanalyzed archival high-angular resolution Band 7 ALMA observations from PDS 70 by doing an independent imaging process to look for emission in the Lagrangian regions of the two detected gas giant protoplanets, PDS 70 b and c. We then projected the orbital paths and visually inspected emission features at the regions around the $L_4$/$L_5$ locations as defined by $\pm$ 60$^{\circ}$ in azimuth from the planet position. Results: We found emission at a $\sim$4-$σ$ level ($\sim$6-$σ$ when correcting from a cleaning effect) at the position of the $L_{5}$ region of PDS 70 b. This emission corresponds to a dust mass in a range of 0.03- 2 M$_{Moon}$, which potentially accumulated in this gravitational well. Conclusions: The tentative detection of the co-orbital dust trap that we report requires additional observations to be confirmed. We predict that we could detect the co-orbital motion of PDS 70 b and the dust presumably associated with $L_5$ by observing again with the same sensitivity and angular resolution as early as February 2026.

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arXiv2021

A rich population of free-floating planets in the Upper Scorpius young stellar association

The nature and origin of free-floating planets (FFPs) are still largely unconstrained because of a lack of large homogeneous samples to enable a statistical analysis of their properties. So far, most FFPs have been discovered using indirect methods; microlensing surveys have proved particularly successful to detect these objects down to a few Earth masses. However, the ephemeral nature of microlensing events prevents any follow-up observations and individual characterization. Several studies have identified FFPs in young stellar clusters and the Galactic field but their samples are small or heterogeneous in age and origin. Here we report the discovery of between 70 and 170 FFPs (depending on the assumed age) in the region encompassing Upper Scorpius and Ophiuchus, the closest young OB association to the Sun. We found an excess of FFPs by a factor of up to seven compared with core-collapse model predictions, demonstrating that other formation mechanisms may be at work. We estimate that ejection from planetary systems might have a contribution comparable to that of core-collapse in the formation of FFPs. Therefore, ejections due to dynamical instabilities in giant exoplanet systems must be frequent within the first 10 Myr of a system's life.

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arXiv2020

Searching for debris discs in the 30 Myr open cluster IC 4665

Context: Debris discs orbiting young stars are key to understand dust evolution and the planetary formation process. We take advantage of a recent membership analysis of the 30 Myr nearby open cluster IC 4665 based on the Gaia and DANCe surveys to revisit the disc population of this cluster. Aims: We aim to study the disc population of IC 4665 using Spitzer (MIPS and IRAC) and WISE photometry. Methods: We use several colour-colour diagrams with empirical photospheric sequences to detect the sources with an infrared excess. Independently, we also fit the spectral energy distribution (SED) of our debris disc candidates with the Virtual Observatory SED analyser (VOSA) which is capable of automatically detecting infrared excesses and provides effective temperature estimates. Results: We find six candidates debris disc host-stars (five with MIPS and one with WISE) and two of them are new candidates. We estimate a disc fraction of 24$\pm$10\% for the B-A stars, where our sample is expected to be complete. This is similar to what has been reported in other clusters of similar ages (Upper Centaurus Lupus, Lower Centaurus Crux, the $β$ Pictoris moving group, and the Pleiades). For solar type stars we find a disk fraction of 9$\pm$9%, lower than that observed in regions with comparable ages. Conclusions: Our candidates debris disc host-stars are excellent targets to be studied with ALMA or the future James Webb Space Telescope (JWST).

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arXiv2019

UVES Spectroscopy of T Chamaeleontis: Line Variability, Mass Accretion Rate and Spectro-astrometric Analysis

Although advances in exoplanet detection techniques have seen an increase in discoveries, observing a planet in the earliest stages of formation still remains a difficult task. Here four epochs of spectra of the transitional disk object T Cha are analysed to determine whether spectro-astrometry can be used to detect a signal from its proposed protoplanet, T Cha b. The unique properties of T Cha are also further constrained. Hα and [O I]λ 6300, the most prominent lines, were analysed using spectro-astrometry. Hα being a direct accretion tracer is the target for the T Cha b detection while [O I]λ 6300 is considered to be an indirect tracer of accretion. [O I]λ 6300 is classified as a broad low velocity component (BC LVC). The mass accretion rate was derived for all epochs using new [O I]λ 6300 LVC relationships and the Hα line luminosity. It is shown that a wind is the likely origin of the [O I]λ 6300 line and that the [O I]λ 6300 line serves as a better accretion tracer than Hα in this case. From the comparison between M acc([OI]) and M acc(Hα) it is concluded that T Cha is not an intrinsically weak accretor but rather that a significant proportion of the Hα emission tracing accretion is obscured. T Cha b is not detected in the spectro-astrometric analysis yet a detection limit of 0.5 mas is derived. The analysis in this case was hampered by spectro-astrometric artefacts and by the unique properties of T Cha. While it seems that spectro-astrometry as a means of detecting exoplanets in TDs can be challenging it can be used to put an limit on the strength of the Hα emission from accreting planetary companions and thus can have an important input into the planning of high angular resolution observations.

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arXiv2017

A resolved and asymmetric ring of PAHs within the young circumstellar disk of IRS 48

For one decade, the spectral-type and age of the $ρ$ Oph object IRS-48 were subject to debates and mysteries. Modelling its disk with mid-infrared to millimeter observations led to various explanations to account for the complex intricacy of dust-holes and gas-depleted regions. We present multi-epoch high-angular-resolution interferometric near-infrared data of spatially-resolved emissions in its first 15AU, known to have very strong Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emissions within this dust-depleted region. We make use of new Sparse-Aperture-Masking data to instruct a revised radiative-transfer model where SED fluxes and interferometry are jointly fitted. Neutral and ionized PAH, Very Small Grains (VSG) and classical silicates are incorporated into the model; new stellar parameters and extinction laws are explored. A bright (42L$_{\odot}$) central-star with A$_v$=12.5mag and R$_v$=6.5 requires less near-infrared excess: the inner-most disk at $\approx$1AU is incompatible with the data. The revised stellar parameters place this system on a 4 Myr evolutionary track, 4 times younger than previous estimations, in better agreement with the surrounding $ρ$ Oph region and disk-lifetimes observations. The disk-structure converges to a classical-grains outer-disk from 55AU combined with a fully resolved VSG\&PAH-ring, at 11-26 AU. We find two over-luminosities in the PAH-ring at color-temperatures consistent with the radiative transfer simulations; one follows a Keplerian circular orbit at 14AU. We show a depletion of a factor $\approx$5 of classical dust grains compared to VSG\&PAH: the IRS-48 disk is nearly void of dust-grains in the first 55 AU. A 3.5M$_{Jup}$ planet on a 40AU orbit qualitatively explains the new disk-structure.

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