Speakers
Description
We present multi-epoch 6 GHz radio continuum observations of approximately 100 known proplyds in the Orion Nebula Cluster (ONC) obtained with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array as part of the VLA Orion A Large Survey (VOLS). VOLS is the first radio survey to cover a large area of Orion A at subarcsecond resolution, improving sensitivity by a factor of 20 over previous surveys. Protoplanetary disks undergoing external photoevaporation in the ONC provide the nearest laboratory for studying how strong external irradiation alters disc evolution, mass-loss rates and the conditions for planet formation. While freefree emission from ionized envelopes has previously been shown to trace photoevaporative mass loss, the stability of these winds over time and how variability relates to disk structure and environment have yet to be investigated. We use spectral index maps at 6 GHz to distinguish thermal free–free emission from potential non-thermal components, and estimate and compare photoevaporative massloss with projected distance from the massive star Theta1 Ori C. The radio properties are placed in context with dust masses from ALMA and disc morphology from JWST to explore connections between variability, environment and physical structure. This study provides new constraints on the stability of photoevaporative flows in the ONC and improves our understanding of how externally irradiated environments influence protoplanetary disk evolution and the early stages of planet formation.
