First spatially resolved Na i and He i transitions towards a massive young stellar object. Finding new tracers for the gaseous star/disc interface

Abstract

ABSTRACT With steady observational advances, the formation of massive stars is being understood in more detail. Numerical models are converging on a scenario where accretion discs play a key role. Direct observational evidence of such discs at a few au scales is scarce, due to the rarity of such objects and the observational challenges, including the lack of adequate diagnostic lines in the near-IR. We present the analysis of K-band spectro-interferometric observations toward the Massive Young Stellar Object IRAS 13481-6124, which is known to host an accreting dusty disc. Using GRAVITY on the VLTI, we trace the crucial au-scales of the warm inner interface between the star and the accretion dusty disc. We detect and spatially resolve the Na i doublet and He i transitions towards an object of this class for the first time. The new observations in combination with our geometric models allowed us to probe the smallest au-scales of accretion/ejection around a MYSO. We find that Na i originates in the disc at smaller radii than the dust disc and is more compact than any of the other spatially resolved diagnostics (Brγ, He i, and CO). Our findings suggest that Na i can be a new powerful diagnostic line in tracing the warm star/disc accreting interface of forming (massive) stars, while the similarities between He i and Brγ point towards an accretion/ejection origin of He i.