Young Stars Have Growing Pains: Growth Spurts in Protostar Cluster

Scientists are getting a closer look at a cluster of young protostars. They've found that these young stars seem to develop in distinct, episodic bursts, similar to growth spurts.

The researchers looked at a star cluster called Serpens South, which is located about 1,400 light-years from Earth. In particular, they focused on a protostar called CARMA-7.

In all, the researchers recorded 22 "episodes" in which CARMA-7 experienced the gravitational push-pull that characterizes star formation. As protostars ingest raw material, they have counter-balancing emissions of material that they don't need. This "outflow" is important to researchers because it can be measured more easily than hard-to-detect incoming matter.

"Outflows are very common in astrophysics," said Hector Arce, one of the researchers, in a news release. "They are good indicators of protostars, evolved stars, and even supermassive black holes. They tell us that there is a central, massive object in the outflow origin, with a surrounding accretion disk."

In this latest study, the researchers found that when young stars grow, they do so episodically in growth spurts rather than steadily. This is also the first time that astronomers have seen such a growth pattern within a star cluster, which is a chaotic, turbulent environment. This reveals a bit more about star formation in general, which tells scientists a bit more about the universe.

The findings are published in the journal Nature.

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