Circumbinary Molecular Rings Around Young Stars in Orion

TL;DR

This study reveals the presence of circumbinary molecular rings around young stars in Orion, supporting the idea that intermediate-mass stars form through circumstellar disks and jets/outflows, similar to low-mass star formation processes.

Contribution

First high-resolution observations of circumbinary molecular rings around intermediate-mass young stars in Orion, linking them to binary systems and star formation mechanisms.

Findings

Detection of two rotating molecular structures suggestive of circumbinary rings.

Identification of young stellar objects with associated compact disks and rings.

Evidence supporting star formation via disks and outflows in intermediate-mass stars.

Abstract

We present high angular resolution 1.3 mm continuum, methyl cyanide molecular line, and 7 mm continuum observations made with the Submillimeter Array and the Very Large Array, toward the most highly obscured and southern part of the massive star forming region OMC1S located behind the Orion Nebula. We find two flattened and rotating molecular structures with sizes of a few hundred astronomical units suggestive of circumbinary molecular rings produced by the presence of two stars with very compact circumstellar disks with sizes and separations of about 50 AU, associated with the young stellar objects 139-409 and 134-411. Furthermore, these two circumbinary rotating rings are related to two compact and bright {\it hot molecular cores}. The dynamic mass of the binary systems obtained from our data are $\geq$ 4 M$_\odot$ for 139-409 and $\geq$ 0.5 M$_\odot$ for 134-411. This result supports the idea that intermediate-mass stars will form through {\it circumstellar disks} and jets/outflows, as the low mass stars do. Furthermore, when intermediate-mass stars are in multiple systems they seem to form a circumbinary ring similar to those seen in young, multiple low-mass systems (e.g., GG Tau and UY Aur).