Protoplanetary disks are much smaller than previously thought, new study finds

Many protoplanetary discs in which new planets are formed are much smaller than thought. Scientists from Leaden Observatory (Netherlands) observed 73 protoplanetary discs in the Lupus region using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter array (ALMA). He found that many young stars host a minor disc of gas and dust, some are small as 1.2 astronomical units. Research accepted for Publication In Astronomy and Astronomy PhysicsThe observed protoplanetary establishes an important link between discs and exoplanets.

In the last decade, astronomers have mimic hundreds of protoplanetary discs around young stars using powerful radio telescopes on Earth like Alma. When compared to the size of our own solar system, many of these discs extend far beyond the neptune orbit, our outer planet. In addition, most discs show gaps where the formation of giant planets is considered. Ph.D. Candidate Ossar M. Guerra-Alvarado, Postdock Mariana B. Nienne’s Van Der Marral, assistant professor of Sanchhez and Leiden Observatory, now shows that these discs may not be specific.

Using Alma, researchers mimic all known protoplanetary discs around young stars in Lupus, a star -making area, located about 400 light years from Earth in the Southern Planetarium Lupus. The survey suggests that two-thirds of the 73 discs with an average radius of six astronomical units are small. It is about the orbit of Jupiter. The smallest disc radi found had only 0.6 astronomical units, which was smaller than the Earth’s orbit.

“These results completely change our view of what a ‘specific’ protoplanetary disk looks,” says Gujara-Alvarado. “The only bright discs that are the easiest to show large scale gaps, while compact discs without such substructures are really very common.”

Optimal conditions for super-end

Small discs were found mainly around low-dreaded stars, with a mass between 10 and 50% of our Sun’s mass. It is the most common type of star found in the universe.

“Overview also suggests that these compact discs may have a optimal position for the formation of the so-called super-ear, as most of the dust is close to the stars, where super-economies are commonly found,” Schechez says. He is a postdock in Leiden Observatory and contributed to this research. There are rocky planets like Super-Earth Earth, but with the public up to ten times the planet. It can also explain why super-ear often found around low-dominated stars.

In addition, research suggests that our solar system was made from a large protoplanetary disc, producing large gas planets such as Jupiter and Saturn, but no super-meaning. Super-Earth is considered the most common planetary type in the universe.

the missing link

The research establishes a “missing link” between the observation of protoplanetary discs and observation of exoplanets. “The discovery that most of the small discs do not appear in the discovery, which means that most stars do not host giant planets,” says Van Der Marral. “It corresponds to whatever it sees in the exoplanet population around the fully developed stars.

The last high-resolution observation of the Alma was primarily focused on the bright discs which are often very large. For small discs only brightness was measured and not size. The high-resolution can be more complex to take observation, and it was not clear whether Alma would be able to create an image of a relatively unconscious disc.

For their research, scientists used Alma comments, taken in 2023 and 2024, with the highest possible resolution of 0.030 arcsac. He also first used arithmetic data to create a full high-resolution disc survey of a whole star creating area.

“Research suggests that we are wrong for a long time what a specific disc looks like,” says van der Mael. Clearly, we are biased to the most bright and largest disks. Now we have finally perfect the disc of all sizes. “