First spatially resolved Na I and He I transitions towards an MYSO. Finding new tracers for the gaseous star/disc interface

TL;DR

This study presents the first spatially resolved detection of Na I and He I transitions in a massive young stellar object, revealing new diagnostics for the star-disc interface at au scales.

Contribution

It introduces Na I as a novel diagnostic line for probing the star-disc interface in massive star formation, based on high-resolution interferometric observations.

Findings

Na I originates closer to the star than the dust disc.

Na I is more compact than other diagnostics like Brγ, He I, and CO.

He I shows similarities to Brγ, indicating an accretion/ejection origin.

Abstract

With steady observational advances, the formation of massive stars is being understood in more detail. Numerical models are converging on a scenario where accretion discs play a key role. Direct observational evidence of such discs at a few au scales is scarce, due to the rarity of such objects and the observational challenges, including the lack of adequate diagnostic lines in the near-IR. We present the analysis of K-band spectro-interferometric observations toward the Massive Young Stellar Object IRAS 13481-6124, which is known to host an accreting dusty disc. Using GRAVITY on the VLTI, we trace the crucial au-scales of the warm inner interface between the star and the accretion dusty disc. We detect and spatially resolve the Na I doublet and He I transitions towards an object of this class for the first time. The new observations in combination with our geometric models allowed us to probe the smallest au-scales of accretion/ejection around an MYSO. We find that Na I originates in the disc at smaller radii than the dust disc and is more compact than any of the other spatially resolved diagnostics (Br$\gamma$, He I, and CO). Our findings suggest that Na I can be a new powerful diagnostic line in tracing the warm star/disc accreting interface of forming (massive) stars, while the similarities between He I and Br$\gamma$ point towards an accretion/ejection origin of He I