The Circumbinary Disk of HD 34700A: I. CO gas kinematics indicate spirals, infall, and vortex motions

Abstract

We present the first high-resolution ($\sim$ 0.14") Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band 6 dust continuum and CO molecular line emission observations of the quadruple system HD 34700. In particular, HD 34700AaAb is a spectroscopic binary ($M_{\mathrm{bin}}=4M_{\odot }$) surrounded by two low-mass companions at large separations. Its circumbinary disk is highly substructured, featuring numerous spiral arms and a large cavity observed in infrared (IR) scattered light. We analyzed the CO line channel and intensity moment maps. By fitting a Keplerian model to the line channel emission, we identified the residual motions and conducted a line spectra analysis. We resolved an asymmetric continuum crescent on top of a dust ring at 0.39" (138 au), colocated with the IR ring. The CO molecule line emissions trace a smaller cavity in gas, whose edge aligns with the inner rim of the ring detected in H$\alpha$ emission at 0.20" (65 au). The ${}^{12}$CO line emission and kinematics trace highly non-Keplerian motions ($\sim 0.1\Delta {\upsilon }_{\mathrm{kep}}$), and these CO spiral features align well with the spiral structures in scattered light. The ${}^{12}$CO line spectra analysis reveals a streamer above the southeastern disk plane, likely falling onto the disk. The ${}^{13}$CO and C${}^{18}$O kinematics largely follow the disk's underlying Keplerian rotation, while ${}^{13}$CO exhibits tentative signs of anticyclonic vortex flows at the continuum crescent location. Our multimolecular line study suggests that the circumbinary disk of HD 34700A is highly perturbed in its upper layers, possibly warped and influenced by infalling material. While late-stage infall may account for the IR spirals and the formation of the vortex through Rossby wave instability, an embedded massive companion within the cavity may also contribute to these features.

22 pages, 20 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics on January 16, 2026

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Cited by in corpus (1)

• The Circumbinary Disc of HD 34700A II. Analysis of a strong dust asymmetry