Direct evidence for magnetohydrodynamic disk winds driving rotating outflows in protostar HOPS 358

OH emission. The outflow preserves the disk's rotational sense and is aligned with the disk axis, providing direct observational evidence for a magnetically launched disk wind. From the measured kinematics, we derive a dimensionless magnetic lever arm of approximately 2.3 and constrain the wind-launching region to radii of 10-18 astronomical units within the planet-forming zone. These results demonstrate that magnetohydrodynamic disk winds operate during the deeply embedded phase, efficiently extracting angular momentum while shaping disk evolution and establishing initial conditions for planet formation.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2026-04-06
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71142-3
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Direct evidence for magnetohydrodynamic disk winds driving rotating outflows in protostar HOPS 358

Logan Francis, Chul-Hwan Kim, Patrick Sheehan, G. J. Herczeg et al.
Nature Communications
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
article

Direct evidence for magnetohydrodynamic disk winds driving rotating outflows in protostar HOPS 358

Logan Francis, Chul-Hwan Kim, Patrick Sheehan, G. J. Herczeg, Doug Johnstone, Chin-Fei Lee, Jeong-Eun Lee
article en

Abstract

OH emission. The outflow preserves the disk's rotational sense and is aligned with the disk axis, providing direct observational evidence for a magnetically launched disk wind. From the measured kinematics, we derive a dimensionless magnetic lever arm of approximately 2.3 and constrain the wind-launching region to radii of 10-18 astronomical units within the planet-forming zone. These results demonstrate that magnetohydrodynamic disk winds operate during the deeply embedded phase, efficiently extracting angular momentum while shaping disk evolution and establishing initial conditions for planet formation.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 17(1)
Leiden University (NL), Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (CA), Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica (TW), Seoul National University (KR), University of Victoria (CA), National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US), Kavli Institute for Theoretical Sciences (CN), National University College (PR), Beijing Haidian Hospital (CN)
National Science Foundation, National Radio Astronomy Observatory, National Research Foundation, Seoul National University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, National Research Foundation of Korea, Natural Science Foundation of Beijing Municipality, National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea, National Science and Technology Council, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, National Institutes of Natural Sciences
Openalex Percentile: Top 26%
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.