Accretion outbursts in massive star formation

TL;DR

This paper models luminous accretion bursts in massive star formation, revealing that clumpy disks around young stars cause outbursts when fragments fall onto the protostar, potentially explaining observed luminous events.

Contribution

First modeling of luminous bursts from massive stars due to accretion of clumpy disk material, linking outbursts to disk fragmentation.

Findings

Clumpy disks around massive stars cause accretion outbursts.

Outbursts occur when disk fragments fall onto the protostar.

Luminous events in star-forming regions may indicate such disks.

Abstract

Using the HPC ressources of the state of Baden-W\"urttemberg, we modelled for the first time the luminous burst from a young massive star by accretion of material from its close environment. We found that the surroundings of young massive stars are shaped as a clumpy disk whose fragments provoke outbursts once they fall onto the protostar and concluded that similar strong luminous events observed in high-mass star forming regions may be a signature of the presence of such disks.