We aim to contribute to the understanding of disk evolution and planet formation, linking them through the study of the first stages of a binary disk undergoing a particular stage (episodic accretion event) and to the study of a young stellar binary system composed by a giant star and a brown dwarf. In the first project, we present ALMA long-baseline observations of a Class I system (HBC 494, which is under an intense FU Ori- type accretion outburst). FU Ori systems (or FUors) are particularly interesting. Although they are expected to occur in all Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), just a few cases are known, and the triggering mechanisms are usually not well-known. In the case of HBC 494, we discovered it is a binary, which improves its statistical value. The study of such disks can trace important questions about the formation of more evolved disks. For example, when such disks dissipate completely gas and dust, planetary systems will be formed and the center of the structures will be fulfilled by protostars. In the case of a binary disk, binary stars will be expected to form. In the second project, we study a binary system (Giant star + brown dwarf – namely Eta Telescopic system or Eta Tel). This system has been observed with high-contrast imaging for more than 20 years. We aim to retrieve this data and do the brown dwarf astrometrical follow-up. Aside from that, since the system is super young, structures can be also forming. At such stages, structures still have enough formation heat to be detectable in near-infrared observations. With high-contrast imaging and the tools from our team, we will produce contrast curves and look for circumplanetary disks or satellites around Eta Tel B. Findings of these objects would contribute to testing the efficiency and validity of formation theories.å
Type of project: PhD thesis
Status: Finished. Graduated 2025
Researchers: Pedro Henrique Soares da Silva de Pinho Nogueira, Alice Zurlo
Funding source: Becas ANID, Nucleo Milenio YEMS