Astrophysical disks articles from across Nature Portfolio

JWST observations of outflows from four young stars reveal in each case a molecular wind with a central cavity surrounding a fast jet. These results point to disk winds driving accretion, with implications for planet formation and evolution.

The spin of Sagittarius A* from Event Horizon Telescope observations is compatible with a historical merger with a 4:1 mass ratio, according to a model. This finding supports the idea that supermassive black holes grow through hierarchical mergers.

Observations of gravitational instability in the disk around AB Aurigae using deep observations of ¹³CO and C¹⁸O line emission provide evidence that giant protoplanets can be formed from collapsing fragments of vast spiral arms.

Physical origin of accretion states in black hole X-ray binary systems is an open question. Here, the authors perform self-consistent radiative plasma simulations of the corona around the inner accretion flow and demonstrate natural generation of the observed hard and soft state X-ray emission when the plasma is turbulent.

The organic macromolecular matter found in meteorites could have formed in heavily irradiated zones in dust traps in planet-forming disks, according to an evolutionary model of a protoplanetary disk.

An extreme Einstein ring ~10,000 times as bright as the Milky Way in the infrared is studied with VLT/ERIS and ALMA, and the authors find that the lensed galaxy is a starburst with a fast-rotating disk, rather than being driven by a major merger.

Based on physical modelling and using deep-learning tools, a 3D reconstruction of a flare orbiting the black hole Sagittarius A*, at the centre of the Milky Way, provides observational clues to the formation of high-energy flares and the dynamics of black-hole accretion disks.