A Chemical Mismatch Between Young Stars and Their Inner Disks

TL;DR

This study reveals a mismatch between stellar and inner disk C/O ratios in young low-mass stars, suggesting disk processes alter inner disk composition after star formation.

Contribution

First direct comparison showing inner disk C/O ratios are enhanced relative to stellar values, indicating disk processes modify disk chemistry post-formation.

Findings

Inner disks have C/O > 1, while stars have solar C/O ratios.

Stellar abundances are consistent with Galactic thin-disk population.

Inner disk composition likely altered by disk processes, not inherited from natal cloud.

Abstract

We present the first stellar elemental abundance study for two very low-mass stars, similar in mass to TRAPPIST-1, in the $\sim5-10$\,Myr-old Upper-Sco association. Their mid-infrared JWST/MIRI spectra, like those of many very low-mass stars, are hydrocarbon-rich, indicating C/O ratios greater than unity in the inner disk gas inside their snowlines. By fitting synthetic spectra to high-resolution APOGEE near-infrared stellar spectra, we show that, unlike their inner disks, both stars have solar C/O ratios. Their Fe, C, O, Mg, and Ca abundances are likewise consistent with solar values, placing them within the Galactic thin-disk population, as expected for nearby star-forming regions. This contrast between stellar and inner disk C/O ratios provides the first direct evidence that the inner disk's supersolar values are not inherited from the natal cloud but arise from disk processes. If these enhanced C/O ratios are primarily driven by inward drift of icy pebbles, there are major implications for disk evolution and planet formation, which we also discuss.