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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 11, 2026

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System
09:44

Laboratory Drop Towers for the Experimental Simulation of Dust-aggregate Collisions in the Early Solar System

Published on: June 5, 2014

A hot compact dust disk around a massive young stellar object.

Stefan Kraus1, Karl-Heinz Hofmann, Karl M Menten

  • 1Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48103, USA. stefankr@umich.edu

Nature
|July 16, 2010
PubMed
Summary

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Astronomers observed a compact, dusty disk around a massive young star, providing evidence for the accretion-disk model in massive star formation. This finding challenges previous theories that suggested alternative formation pathways for stars over 10 solar masses.

Area of Science:

  • Astrophysics
  • Stellar Evolution
  • Star Formation

Background:

  • Circumstellar disks are key to low-mass star formation.
  • The role of accretion disks in forming stars >10 solar masses is debated due to radiation pressure.
  • Alternative theories include stellar merging or complex infall geometries.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the formation mode of massive stars.
  • To search for observational evidence of accretion disks around massive young stellar objects.
  • To test the applicability of the accretion-disk paradigm to high-mass star formation.

Main Methods:

  • Near-infrared interferometric observations were used.
  • Spatially resolved the distribution of hot material around a high-mass young stellar object (~20 solar masses).

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Published on: June 5, 2014

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  • Applied geometric and physical models to analyze the disk structure and temperature gradient.

    • Main Results:

    • A compact, dusty disk structure (13 x 19 AU) was resolved around the massive young stellar object.
    • The disk showed a radial temperature gradient with a dust-free inner region (<9.5 AU).
    • A bipolar outflow with bow shocks was detected perpendicular to the disk plane.

    Conclusions:

    • The observed structure is consistent with a disk seen at a 45-degree inclination.
    • The disk properties are similar to those found in low-mass star formation.
    • The findings support the accretion-disk model for forming massive stars.