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We report on a search for variability in the young brown dwarf SST1624 ($\sim$M7 spectral type, $M\sim 0.05\,M_{\odot}$), previously found to feature an expanding gaseous shell and to undergo quasi-spherical mass loss. We find no variability on timescales of 1-6\,hours. Specifically, on these timescales, we rule out the presence of a period with amplitude $>1\%$. A photometric period in that range would have been evidence for either pulsation powered by Deuterium burning or rotation near breakup. However, we see a 3\% decrease in the K-band magnitude between two consecutive observing nights (a 10\,$\sigma$ result). There is also clear evidence for variations in the WISE lightcurves at 3.6 and 4.5$\,\mu m$ on timescales of days, with a tentative period of about 6\,d (with a plausible range between 3 and 7\,d). The best explanation for the variations over days is rotational modulation due to spots. These results disfavour centrifugal winds driven by fast rotation as mechanism for the mass loss, which, in turn, makes the alternative scenario -- a thermal pulse due to Deuterium burning -- more plausible.

An unbiased spectral survey of V883 Ori, an eruptive young star, was carried out with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array in Band 6. The detected line emission from various molecules reveals morphological/kinematical features in both the Keplerian disk and the infalling envelope. A direct infall signature, redshifted absorption against the continuum, has been detected in CO, HCO ^+ , HCN, HNC, and H _2 CO. HCO ^+ and SO show large armlike structures that probably connect the infalling envelope to the disk. HCN and H _2 CO reveal a distinct boundary between the inner and outer disks and tentative spiral structures connecting the outer disk to the inner disk. HNC shows a large central emission hole ( r ∼ 0.″3) due to its chemical conversion to HCN at high temperatures. HDO emission, a direct tracer of the water sublimation region, has been detected in the disk. Molecular emission from complex organic molecules is confined within the HDO emission boundary, and HCO ^+ has an emission hole in its distribution due to its destruction by water. Together, these features suggest that the current episode of eruption in V883 Ori may be triggered by the infall from the envelope to the outer disk, generating a spiral wave that propagates inward and greatly enhances the accretion onto the central star.

The formation of giant planets has traditionally been divided into two pathways: core accretion and gravitational instability. However, in recent years, gravitational instability has become less favored, primarily due to the scarcity of observations of fragmented protoplanetary disks around young stars and the low occurrence rate of massive planets on very wide orbits. In this study, we present a SPHERE/IRDIS polarized light observation of the young outbursting object V960 Mon. The image reveals a vast structure of intricately shaped scattered light with several spiral arms. This finding motivated a reanalysis of archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 1.3 mm data acquired just two years after the onset of the outburst of V960 Mon. In these data, we discover several clumps of continuum emission aligned along a spiral arm that coincides with the scattered light structure. We interpret the localized emission as fragments formed from a spiral arm under gravitational collapse. Estimating the mass of solids within these clumps to be of several Earth masses, we suggest this observation to be the first evidence of gravitational instability occurring on planetary scales. This study discusses the significance of this finding for planet formation and its potential connection with the outbursting state of V960 Mon.

The physical properties of brown dwarf companions found to orbit nearby, solar-type stars can be benchmarked against independent measures of their mass, age, chemical composition, and other parameters, offering insights into the evolution of substellar objects. The TRENDS high-contrast imaging survey has recently discovered a (mass/age/metallicity) benchmark brown dwarf orbiting the nearby (d = 18.69 ± 0.19 pc), G8V/K0V star HD 4747. We have acquired follow-up spectroscopic measurements of HD 4747 B using the Gemini Planet Imager to study its spectral type, effective temperature, surface gravity, and cloud properties. Observations obtained in the H-band and K1-band recover the companion and reveal that it is near the L/T transition (T1 ± 2). Fitting atmospheric models to the companion spectrum, we find strong evidence for the presence of clouds. However, spectral models cannot satisfactorily fit the complete data set: while the shape of the spectrum can be well-matched in individual filters, a joint fit across the full passband results in discrepancies that are a consequence of the inherent color of the brown dwarf. We also find a 2σ tension in the companion mass, age, and surface gravity when comparing to evolutionary models. These results highlight the importance of using benchmark objects to study “secondary effects” such as metallicity, non-equilibrium chemistry, cloud parameters, electron conduction, non-adiabatic cooling, and other subtleties affecting emergent spectra. As a new L/T transition benchmark, HD 4747 B warrants further investigation into the modeling of cloud physics using higher resolution spectroscopy across a broader range of wavelengths, polarimetric observations, and continued Doppler radial velocity and astrometric monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We conduct a multiplicity survey of members of the ρ Ophiuchus cloud complex with high-resolution imaging to characterize the multiple-star population of this nearby star-forming region and investigate the relation between stellar multiplicity and star and planet formation. Our aperture masking survey reveals the presence of five new stellar companions beyond the reach of previous studies, but does not result in the detection of any new substellar companions. We find that 43 ± 6% of the 114 stars in our survey have stellar-mass companions between 1.3 and 780 AU, while % host brown dwarf companions in the same interval. By combining this information with knowledge of disk-hosting stars, we show that the presence of a close binary companion (separation <40 AU) significantly influences the lifetime of protoplanetary disks, a phenomenon previously seen in older star-forming regions. At the ∼1–2 Myr age of our Ophiuchus members ∼2/3 of close binary systems have lost their disks, compared to only ∼30% of single stars and wide binaries. This has a significant impact on the formation of giant planets, which are expected to require much longer than 1 Myr to form via core accretion and thus planets formed via this pathway should be rare in close binary systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pathway to the formation of planetesimals, and eventually giant planets, may occur in concentrations of dust grains trapped in pressure maxima. Dramatic crescent-shaped dust concentrations have been seen in recent radio images at submillimeter wavelengths. These disk asymmetries could represent the initial phases of planet formation in the dust trap scenario, provided that grain sizes are spatially segregated. A testable prediction of azimuthal dust trapping is that progressively larger grains should be more sharply confined and should follow a distribution that is markedly different from the gas. However, gas tracers such as 12CO and the infrared emission from small grains are both very optically thick where the submillimeter continuum originates, so previous observations have been unable to test the trapping predictions or to identify compact concentrations of larger grains required for planet formation by core accretion. Here we report multifrequency observations of HD 142527, from 34 to 700 GHz, that reveal a compact concentration of grains approaching centimeter sizes, with a few Earth masses, embedded in a large-scale crescent of smaller, submillimeter-sized particles. The emission peaks at wavelengths shorter than ∼1 mm are optically thick and trace the temperature structure resulting from shadows cast by the inner regions. Given this temperature structure, we infer that the largest dust grains are concentrated in the 34 GHz clump. We conclude that dust trapping is efficient enough for grains observable at centimeter wavelengths to lead to compact concentrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]