JWST-MIRI’s Multidimensional View of Mass Loss in the Irradiated Disks of NGC 1977

Abstract The evolution of protoplanetary disks, and consequently the outcomes of planet formation, are thought to be significantly altered in regions containing massive stars. Extreme cases in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) demonstrate the impact of external irradiation (far-ultraviolet ≳ 10 4 G 0 ) on disk evolution, but intermediate environments remain less observationally constrained. We present JWST/MIRI Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MRS) observations of seven proplyds in NGC 1977 exposed to an external far-ultraviolet field of 10 3 –10 5 G 0 from the B1V star 42 Orionis (42 Ori). We characterize emission from molecular (H 2 ) and atomic (e.g., [Ne II ], [Ar II ], H I ) species, and in some cases, MIRI reveals extended emission tracing the proplyd ionization front and wind. The closest disk to 42 Ori, KCFF#1, is undergoing extreme mass loss, traced by a dusty tail thousands of astronomical units long, and lacks clear H 2 or H I emission, indicating an advanced stage of dispersal. The remaining six disks exhibit two-temperature components of H 2 emission (500–700 K and 1000–1500 K), likely tracing the disk molecular layer and a photoevaporative wind, alongside H I lines, which are used to estimate mass accretion rates. When comparing KCFF#2 and #6, which have similar host stars, KCFF#2 (closer to 42 Ori) is dominated by externally driven mass loss, with extended molecular and atomic emission, whereas KCFF#6 only shows extended H 2 emission, with roughly equal contributions from accretion and external mass loss. While the sample is small, this work demonstrates how JWST/MIRI can assess environmental impacts on disk evolution, with NGC 1977 bridging strongly irradiated disks in the ONC and the more local population.