Results of the summarizing process for the arXiv paper: 2201.05617v1

The study reports on the discovery of a likely flyby event between young stellar objects in star-forming clusters, which is expected to significantly perturb circumstellar disks. Sub-0".1 resolution Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA) observations towards the million-year-old binary protostar Z CMa revealed a point source located ~4700 au from the binary at both millimeter and centimeter wavelengths. This point source is situated along the extension of a ~2000 au streamer structure previously found in scattered light imaging and its counterpart in dust and gas emission was also newly identified. Comparison with simulations showed signposts of a rare flyby event in action. Z CMa is classified as a "double burster," as both binary components undergo accretion outbursts that may be facilitated by perturbations to the host disk caused by flybys. The findings provide direct observational evidence for close encounters between young stellar objects that can dramatically affect their circumstellar disks, supporting previous numerical simulations of star formation.

• A study reports on the discovery of a likely flyby event between young stellar objects in star-forming clusters
• The event is expected to significantly perturb circumstellar disks
• ALMA and JVLA observations towards the binary protostar Z CMa revealed a point source located ~4700 au from the binary at both millimeter and centimeter wavelengths
• This point source is situated along the extension of a ~2000 au streamer structure previously found in scattered light imaging and its counterpart in dust and gas emission was also newly identified
• Comparison with simulations showed signposts of a rare flyby event in action
• Z CMa is classified as a "double burster," as both binary components undergo accretion outbursts that may be facilitated by perturbations to the host disk caused by flybys
• The findings provide direct observational evidence for close encounters between young stellar objects that can dramatically affect their circumstellar disks, supporting previous numerical simulations of star formation.

Flyby Event Between Young Stellar Objects Discovered in Star-forming Clusters

Astronomers have discovered a rare flyby event between young stellar objects in star-forming clusters, which is expected to significantly perturb circumstellar disks. Using the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and Jansky Very Large Array (JVLA), researchers were able to observe a point source located ~4700 au from the binary at both millimeter and centimeter wavelengths. This point source was found along the extension of a ~2000 au streamer structure previously found in scattered light imaging.

Background on Z CMa

The research focused on Z CMa, a million-year-old binary protostar classified as a "double burster." Both binary components undergo accretion outbursts that may be facilitated by perturbations to the host disk caused by flybys. The findings provide direct observational evidence for close encounters between young stellar objects that can dramatically affect their circumstellar disks, supporting previous numerical simulations of star formation.

Observations with ALMA and JVLA

Sub-0".1 resolution ALMA and JVLA observations towards Z CMa revealed a point source located ~4700 au from the binary at both millimeter and centimeter wavelengths. This point source was situated along the extension of a ~2000 au streamer structure previously found in scattered light imaging and its counterpart in dust and gas emission was also newly identified. Comparison with simulations showed signposts of a rare flyby event in action.

Implications for Star Formation

The discovery provides direct observational evidence for close encounters between young stellar objects that can dramatically affect their circumstellar disks, supporting previous numerical simulations of star formation. It suggests that flybys are an important factor influencing star formation processes such as accretion outbursts seen in double burst systems like Z CMa, which could explain why these systems are so common among young stars.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates how powerful tools like ALMA and JVLA can be used to uncover new insights into star formation processes such as flybys between young stellar objects, providing further evidence for theories about how stars form within clusters over time.