2025A&A...698L..16S

Context. Planet formation around young stars requires the growth of interstellar dust grains from micron-sized (μm-sized) particles to kilometre-sized (km-sized) planetesimals. Numerical simulations have shown that large (mm-sized) grains found in the inner envelope of young protostars could be lifted from the disc via winds. However, we are still lacking unambiguous evidence for large grains in protostellar winds and outflows.
Aims. We investigated dust continuum emission in the envelope of the Class I binary L1551 IRS5 in the Taurus molecular cloud, aiming to identify observational signatures of grain growth, such as variations in the dust emissivity index (β_mm).
Methods. In this context, we present new, high-angular resolution (50 au) observations of thermal dust continuum emission at 1.3 mm and 3 mm in the envelope (∼3000 au) of L1551 IRS5, obtained as part of the ALMA-FAUST Large Program.
Results. We analysed dust emission along the cavity walls of the CO outflow, extended up to ∼1800 au. We found an H₂ volume density > 2 × 10⁵ cm^–3, a dust mass of ∼58 M_⊕, and β_mm ≲ 1, implying the presence of grains ∼10³ times larger than typical sizes for the interstellar medium (ISM).
Conclusions. We present the first spatially resolved observational evidence of large grains within an outflow cavity wall. Our results suggest that these grains have been transported from the inner disc to the envelope by protostellar winds and may subsequently fall back into the outer disc by gravity and/or via accretion streamers. This cycle provides longer time for grains to grow, demonstrating their crucial role in the formation of planetesimals.