Detection of a septuple stellar system in formation via disk fragmentation
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866912585319710720 |
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| author | Li, Shanghuo Beuther, Henrik Oliva, André Elbakyan, Vardan G. Offner, Stella S. R. Kuiper, Rolf Qiu, Keping Lu, Xing Sanhueza, Patricio Chen, Huei-Ru Vivien Zhang, Qizhou Olguin, Fernando A. Lee, Chang Won Pudritz, Ralph E. Kong, Shuo Kuruwita, Rajika L. Luo, Qiuyi Liu, Junhao |
| author_facet | Li, Shanghuo Beuther, Henrik Oliva, André Elbakyan, Vardan G. Offner, Stella S. R. Kuiper, Rolf Qiu, Keping Lu, Xing Sanhueza, Patricio Chen, Huei-Ru Vivien Zhang, Qizhou Olguin, Fernando A. Lee, Chang Won Pudritz, Ralph E. Kong, Shuo Kuruwita, Rajika L. Luo, Qiuyi Liu, Junhao |
| contents | Stellar multiple systems play a pivotal role in cluster dynamics and stellar evolution, leading to intense astronomical phenomena like X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, Type Ia supernova, and stellar mergers, which are prime sources of gravitational waves. However, their origin remains poorly understood. Here we report the discovery of a septuple protostellar system embedded in a Keplerian disk within the high-mass star-forming region NGC\,6334IN, with close separations of 181-461 AU. The stability analysis reveals that the disk surrounding the septuple system is dynamically unstable, indicating that the septuple system formed via disk fragmentation. Previous studies have typically found only 2--3 members forming via disk fragmentation in both low- and high-mass star-forming regions. Our findings provide compelling observational evidence that the fragmentation of a gravitationally unstable disk is a viable mechanism for the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity, confirming what was previously only a theoretical concept. The results shed new light on the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity in cluster environments. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_06787 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Detection of a septuple stellar system in formation via disk fragmentation Li, Shanghuo Beuther, Henrik Oliva, André Elbakyan, Vardan G. Offner, Stella S. R. Kuiper, Rolf Qiu, Keping Lu, Xing Sanhueza, Patricio Chen, Huei-Ru Vivien Zhang, Qizhou Olguin, Fernando A. Lee, Chang Won Pudritz, Ralph E. Kong, Shuo Kuruwita, Rajika L. Luo, Qiuyi Liu, Junhao Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics Stellar multiple systems play a pivotal role in cluster dynamics and stellar evolution, leading to intense astronomical phenomena like X-ray binaries, gamma-ray bursts, Type Ia supernova, and stellar mergers, which are prime sources of gravitational waves. However, their origin remains poorly understood. Here we report the discovery of a septuple protostellar system embedded in a Keplerian disk within the high-mass star-forming region NGC\,6334IN, with close separations of 181-461 AU. The stability analysis reveals that the disk surrounding the septuple system is dynamically unstable, indicating that the septuple system formed via disk fragmentation. Previous studies have typically found only 2--3 members forming via disk fragmentation in both low- and high-mass star-forming regions. Our findings provide compelling observational evidence that the fragmentation of a gravitationally unstable disk is a viable mechanism for the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity, confirming what was previously only a theoretical concept. The results shed new light on the formation of extreme high-order multiplicity in cluster environments. |
| title | Detection of a septuple stellar system in formation via disk fragmentation |
| topic | Astrophysics of Galaxies Solar and Stellar Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.06787 |