Molecular Similarity and Water Diversity in Coeval Binary Disks: JWST/MIRI Observations of Sz 65 and Sz 66
Jinghuai Yao, Ke Zhang, Andrea Banzatti, Naman S. Bajaj, Ilaria Pascucci, James Miley, Geoffrey A. Blake, Colette Salyk, John M. Carpenter, Paola Pinilla, Lucas A. Cieza, Miguel Vioque, Benoît Tabone
astro-ph.EP
Submitted: 2026-05-27
Comments: Published in The Astrophysical Journal; 23 figures, 4 tables
Journal ref: The Astrophysical Journal, 1005, 70 (2026)
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
The gist: We present JWST/MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer spectra of the wide-separation (projected separation = 980 au) binary protoplanetary disks Sz 65 (K7; 0.68 M) and Sz 66 (M3; 0.30 M), reduced using
Terminology
Abstract
We present JWST/MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer spectra of the wide-separation (projected separation = 980 au) binary protoplanetary disks Sz 65 (K7; 0.68 M) and Sz 66 (M3; 0.30 M), reduced using the uniform pipeline of the JWST Disk Infrared Spectral Chemistry Survey. Both disks show rich molecular emission, including H 2 O, CO 2, HCN, C 2 H 2, and OH. The scaled spectra of the two disks exhibit remarkably similar H 2 O, CO 2, and HCN line emission in the 13--18 mu m region, with the only notable difference being stronger C 2 H 2 emission in the primary (Sz 65). Beyond 18 mu m, the difference in H 2 O line emission between the two disks increases. Both the flux ratios and the slab-model-derived mass ratios of cold to hot H 2 O (about 200 K to about 750 K) and warm to hot H 2 O (about 450 K to about 750 K) are significantly higher in the secondary (Sz 66). Because binary stars share nearly the same age and metallicity, and as both disks appear compact in millimeter emission (<30 au), we suggest that the excess cold H 2 O in the secondary is best explained by its unstructured dust disk, in contrast to the primary, which shows gaps at 6 and 20 au. The enhanced cold water in the secondary is consistent with efficient pebble drift across the water snow line and increased H 2 O vapor from the sublimation of icy mantles. Our results demonstrate that wide-separation binaries can serve as powerful control samples for isolating the impact of individual disk properties on inner-disk chemistry and evolution.
Sources
- Planet Formation Theory in the Era of ALMA and Kepler: from Pebbles to Exoplanets
- Demographics of young stars and their protoplanetary disks: lessons learned on disk evolution and its connection to planet formation
- The Role of Disk Winds in the Evolution and Dispersal of Protoplanetary Disks
- MINDS: Intertwined evolution of dust and gas in large planet-forming disks. A diversity driven by halted pebble drift?
Related papers
- PDS 70 c and SR 12 c: Observational Constraints on Giant-Planet and Satellite Formation
- Two-stage disruption of resonant chains
- Detectability of resolved hydrogen lines from the accretion shock at gas giants and their CPDs
- Binary-lens Microlensing Degeneracy: Impact on Planetary Sensitivity and Mass-ratio Function
- Atmospheric escape fractionates secondary but not primary atmospheres
- The Occurrence Rate of Nearby Planetary Companions to Hot Jupiters