An ALMA image of the dust ring (red) and gas spirals (blue) of the circumstellar disk of AB Aurigae reveals the presence of gas spiral arms within a wide dust gap, suggesting planet formation. (Image courtesy of ALMA)
Protoplanets are celestial objects in the process of forming fully fledged planets in gas and dust disks surrounding hot young stars. These objects, often several times more massive than Jupiter, are still in their birth environments, actively feeding on surrounding material through their own circumplanetary disks. Unlike mature planets, protoplanets offer a rare glimpse into the turbulent, chaotic processes of planet formation, revealing how the worlds we see today are formed.
Vesta is a known surviving protoplanet.
Using the MUSE spectrograph on the Very Large Telescope in Chile, an international team led by researchers from the Astrobiology Center of Japan detected hydrogen alpha emission lines emanating from a protoplanet. This hydrogen emission originates from hot gas spiraling around the planet, fed by the surrounding protoplanetary disk.
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The hydrogen emission detected by AB Aurigae b exhibits a characteristic pattern that suggests gas is falling into the planet, rather than being blown out. This phenomenon is known as the “inverse P Cygni profile.” This pattern is observed in young stars undergoing rapid accretion, but AB Aurigae b is the first protoplanet to show such clear signs of ongoing mass accretion.
Emission is observed at wavelengths slightly blueshifted from the hydrogen alpha line, indicating gas moving toward us at approximately 100 kilometers per second. Absorption is observed at wavelengths slightly redshifted from the hydrogen alpha line, indicating material moving away from us at approximately 75 kilometers per second. This combination creates a characteristic “inverted” profile, indicating infalling matter.
AB Aurigae b is particularly interesting because, unlike other directly observed young planets, which orbit within the orbits of their disks, AB Aurigae b remains buried within its parent disk. This allows us to observe the actual feeding process, as the planet accumulates mass from its surroundings. The system's young age, approximately 2 million years, means we are witnessing planet formation in its earliest stages.
Observations of AB Aurigae b challenge standard models of planet formation. Located so far from its star, the planet likely formed through the rapid collapse of dense disk regions under its own gravity, rather than through core accretion, as is the case with Jupiter and Saturn.
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The detection of hydrogen emission provides direct evidence of mass accretion onto a protoplanet within the disk from which it formed, providing key insights into how gas giant planets grow during their formation. The circumplanetary disk surrounding AB Aurigae b acts as a feeding mechanism, diverting matter from the larger protoplanetary disk onto the growing planet.
The discovery of AB Aurigae b marks the beginning of a new era in the study of planet formation. Future observations will help determine precisely how much of the detected radiation comes from the planet itself, how much is recycled light from the surrounding disk, and whether similar signatures can be found in other young stars.
The original version of this article was published in Universe Today magazine.
Mark Thompson, science broadcaster and author
Mark Thompson is known for his tireless efforts to make science accessible to the general public through television, radio, podcasts, and book appearances. He has appeared on the award-nominated BBC television show Stargazing LIVE, and his theatre show Spectacular Science has received five stars from British theatre critics. In 2018, Mark received an honorary doctorate from the University of East Anglia.
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