The ALMA View of the Edge-on Gomez’s Hamburger System: A Highly Dynamic, Asymmetric Protoplanetary Disk Reveals the Earliest Phases of Giant Planet Formation
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Chemical tracers provide some of the strongest observational signatures of ongoing planet formation and localized dynamical perturbations in protoplanetary disks. In particular, sulfur-bearing molecules are predicted to be enhanced in regions of shock heating, ice sublimation, and gravitational instability. Here, we present high–angular resolution (≈0 . ″ 2) Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of 12 CO J = 3–2, 13 CO J = 3–2, CS J = 7–6, and SO J N = 8 8 –7 7 toward the large, edge-on Gomez’s Hamburger (“GoHam”; IRAS 18059-3211) disk. We detect a narrow, one-sided arc of SO emission that peaks near a previously identified gas overdensity, suggesting localized heating around an early-stage giant protoplanet or disk fragment. The edge-on geometry of GoHam enables us to place this chemical signature in the broader context of the disk gas and dust structure. To do so, we map the vertical distribution of molecular gas relative to millimeter- and (sub)micron-sized dust, identify a pronounced north–south continuum asymmetry, and detect non-Keplerian 12 CO and 13 CO emission indicative of a disk wind. We also derive a dynamical stellar mass of 2.2 ± 0.5 M ⊙ and a revised dust extinction map–based distance of 139 ± 24 pc, which places GoHam in the outskirts of the Sco–Cen association. Together, these observations reveal a highly dynamic disk in which localized sulfur chemistry may trace one of the earliest observable stages of wide-separation giant planet formation.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: Charles J. Law, Jensen Lawrence, Richard Teague, Zhe-Yu Daniel Lin, Romane Le Gal, Kristina Monsch, Gordian Edenhofer, Hans Baehr, Edwin A. Bergin, L. Ilsedore Cleeves, Anne Dutrey, Coralie Foucher, Stéphane Guilloteau, Thomas J. Haworth, Thomas Henning, John D. Ilee, Marija R. Jankovic, Kamber R. Schwarz, Ilaria Pascucci, Dmitry Semenov, Ke Zhang
Institutions: University of Minnesota, University of Virginia, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique, Instituto de Radioastronomía Milimétrica, Université Grenoble Alpes, Center for Astrophysics Harvard & Smithsonian, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, University of Michigan, Université de Bordeaux, Queen Mary University of London, University of Leeds, University of Belgrade, University of Arizona, Heidelberg University, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,499
Funders: National Science Foundation, Smithsonian Institution, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute, UK Research and Innovation, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Academia Sinica, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
OpenAlex ID: W7212111113