JWST/MIRI Reveals the Evolution from Molecular to Atomic Disk Winds

The Astronomical Journal, vol. 172, pp. 161

Abstract

Abstract The evolution and dispersal of protoplanetary disks—governed by accretion, magnetically launched jets and winds, and photoevaporative winds—fundamentally shape planetary systems. Determining how these mass-loss processes coevolve is crucial for constraining planet formation pathways. We analyze archival James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Mid-Infrared Instrument (MIRI) integral field unit data of 72 inclined ( i > 40°), mostly Class II disks to identify and characterize spatially resolved jets and winds, focusing on [Ne II ] and H 2 lines. Extended emission in H 2 S(1), S(3), S(5), S(7), and/or [Ne II ] is detected toward 66 disks, revealing diverse morphologies. We develop a framework to identify conical H 2 winds and high-velocity [Ne II ] jets perpendicular to the disk, detecting them toward 46 and 40 disks, respectively. All sources with [Ne II ] jets exhibit a corresponding wind traced in either H 2 (85%) or [O I ], establishing a connection between jets and winds. The detection fractions of [Ne II ] jets and H 2 winds correlate positively with mass accretion rate, with no dependence on disk inclination or stellar mass. Conversely, marginally resolved low-velocity [Ne II ] winds are found preferentially toward lower accretors. Among sources with H 2 winds, detection of hotter winds traced by S(7) and S(5) declines more rapidly with decreasing accretion rate than that of the colder S(1) component. Comparison with high-resolution [O I ] 6300Å spectroscopy reveals [O I ] low-velocity components and extended H 2 wind detections preferentially toward moderate-to-high accretors ( ≳ 1 0 − 8.5 M ̇ ⊙ yr − 1 ), whereas lower accretors exhibit only [O I ] and [Ne II ] winds. Together, these results indicate that atomic jets and atomic+molecular winds, consistent with an MHD disk-wind origin, dominate during early, actively accreting disk phases, while at lower accretion rates, jets weaken and winds become predominantly atomic.

Authors 13

1. Naman S. Bajaj corresponding

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The University of Arizona

2. Ilaria Pascucci

   University of Arizona

   Affiliation as printed

   The University of Arizona

3. S. Cabrit

   Sorbonne Université · Université Grenoble Alpes

   Affiliation as printed

   Sorbonne Université

   Univ. Grenoble Alpes

4. Suzan Edwards

   Five Colleges

   Affiliation as printed

   Five College Astronomy Department

5. Gabriele Cugno

   University of Zurich

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Zürich

6. Andrew D. Sellek Aachen

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University

7. Joan Najita

   NSF NOIRLab

   Affiliation as printed

   NSF NOIRLab

8. Ke Zhang

   University of Wisconsin–Madison

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Wisconsin–Madison

9. Richard Alexander

   University of Leicester

   Affiliation as printed

   University of Leicester,

10. Gregory J. Herczeg

    Peking University

    Affiliation as printed

    Peking University

11. Uma Gorti

    Ames Research Center · Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence

    Affiliation as printed

    NASA Ames Research Center

    SETI Institute

12. Sophie C. Clark

    University of Arizona

    Affiliation as printed

    The University of Arizona

13. Tracy L. Beck

    Space Telescope Science Institute

    Affiliation as printed

    The Space Telescope Science Institute