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Carsten Dominik

Publications and source records attributed to Carsten Dominik.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Dust characterization of the HD 163296 disk with high-resolution multi-wavelength ALMA observations

Context. Planets form through the growth and accumulation of dust grains in protoplanetary disks. Characterizing dust properties such as size, surface density, and temperature is key to understanding planet formation. Aims. We characterize the dust properties of the protoplanetary disk around HD 163296 by performing spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting of multi-wavelength high-resolution observations. Methods. We present new high-resolution ALMA Band 9 (0.45 mm) observations, which are sensitive to the temperature. We performed SED fitting at a common resolution of 0.066 arcsec using these new Band 9 observations along with archival ALMA Band 3, 4, 6, and 7 observations. We compared the fitted results with VLA observations and explored multiple dust models with different optical constants and porosities. Results. The Band 9 image shows the central disk, two rings at 0.67 and 1.00 arcsec, and outer extended emission previously seen at other wavelengths. At higher frequencies, the rings appear wider, the gaps appear shallower, and the extended emission appears brighter, which can be explained by optical-depth effects and/or size segregation. We characterized the dust properties, including temperature, surface density, and dust size, for each dust model. However, the inferred dust properties are dependent on the dust model, and the ALMA data alone do not allow us to determine which dust model is preferred. We identified the DSHARP Zubko (porous) model as the preferred model based on VLA profiles and physical and observational constraints. The outer ring temperature is lower than predicted by a passively irradiated disk model, suggesting shadowing by the inner ring. Although the surface density and dust size depend on the dust model, the preferred model indicates that the central disk, both rings, and the extended disk each contain more than a few Earth masses of dust.

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Planet-forming disks and their environment across regions and time from the full NIR census

The evolution of planet-forming disks and the processes of planet formation influence each other, and both of them are possibly impacted by the local environment. Extensive high-resolution imagery of disks across space and time is the best tool for determining their evolution. We compiled a comprehensive list of disk-bearing young stars with near-IR high-contrast images available. The sample sums up to 268 sources, including 51 targets with no prior publications, which makes this study the largest of its kind and the most extensive release of IR disk images to date. Our census reveals very diverse disk and ambient morphologies. Disks in Lupus are bright, in Chamaeleon are faint, in Corona Australis and Taurus are frequently surrounded by ambient emission. Disks experience an abrupt increase in IR brightness between 2 Myr and 5 Myr. The earliest IR disk cavities around single stars arise after 2-3 Myr explaining why are young disks faint in the near-IR, and determining which disks can live longer. Well-known, high-longevity disks (>8 Myr) are always bright. Ambient material is detected in more than 20% of young sources but the fraction drops with time. We find a clear correspondence for the presence of ambient material with the stellar variability, near-IR excess, and mass accretion rate as well as, in turn, with spirals and shadows in disks. Half of the disks with ambient material show spirals while none of them show rings. We therefore propose that the spirals and the disk warps responsible for shadows are generally induced by late infall from the medium, and that this also affects the stellar accretion. The emerging picture proves the fundamental role of the environment for the disk evolution and planet formation.

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WIde Separation Planets In Time (WISPIT): A Gap-clearing Planet in a Multi-ringed Disk around the Young Solar-type Star WISPIT 2

In the past decades several thousand exoplanet systems have been discovered around evolved, main-sequence stars, revealing a wide diversity in their architectures. To understand how the planet formation process can lead to vastly different outcomes in system architecture we have to study the starting conditions of planet formation within the disks around young stars. In this study we are presenting high resolution direct imaging observations with VLT/SPHERE of the young ($\sim$5 Myr), nearby ($\sim$133 pc), solar-analog designated as WISPIT 2($=$ TYC~5709-354-1). These observations were taken as part of our survey program that explores the formation and orbital evolution of wide-separation gas giants. WISPIT 2 was observed in four independent epochs using polarized light and total intensity observations. They reveal for the first time an extended (380 au) disk in scattered light with a multi-ringed sub-structure. We directly detect a young proto-planet WISPIT 2b, embedded in a disk gap and show that it is co-moving with its host star. Multiple SPHERE epochs demonstrate that it shows orbital motion consistent with Keplerian motion in the observed disk gap. Our $H$ and $K_s$-band photometric data are consistent with thermal emission from a young planet. By comparison with planet evolutionary models, we find a mass of the planet of $4.9^{+0.9}_{-0.6}$ Jupiter masses. This mass is also consistent with the width of the observed disk gap, retrieved from hydrodynamic models. WISPIT 2b is the first unambiguous planet detection in a multi-ringed disk, making the WISPIT 2 system the ideal laboratory to study planet-disk interaction and subsequent evolution.

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Peering through the veil: Investigating protoplanetary disk outer edges using backside visibility

Protoplanetary disks observed in scattered light reveal essential insights into the disk's three-dimensional architecture and dust properties. These disks, which play a crucial role in planet formation, have complex structures where the visibility of the disk's backside can vary significantly based on several parameters. This study aims to explore the factors impacting backside visibility in protoplanetary disks, particularly under variations in inclination, dust distribution, grain characteristics, and outer disk morphology. Using RADMC-3D radiative transfer simulations, we investigate how these variables influence the appearance of the backside in scattered light images. Tapered disk models with exponential tapers, frequently obscure the backside, which supports the rarity of observed backside features. In cases where backside features are visible at lower inclinations, they likely indicate cut-off disks, as backside detection is challenging in standard tapered models at these inclinations. Additionally, factors like dust mass, grain distribution, and disk material stratification play crucial roles in backside observability, affecting its potential detection in real observations. This study contributes to understanding the detectability of the backside in protoplanetary disks, with implications for refining observational strategies and interpreting backside features in scattered light images. These findings help frame backside visibility as a critical aspect of assessing disk structure and evolution.

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The grazing angle icy protoplanetary disk PDS 453

PDS 453 is a rare highly inclined disk where the stellar photosphere is seen at grazing incidence on the disk surface. Our goal is take advantage of this geometry to constrain the structure and composition of this disk, in particular the fact that it shows a 3.1 $\mu$m water ice band in absorption that can be related uniquely to the disk. We observed the system in polarized intensity with the VLT/SPHERE instrument, as well as in polarized light and total intensity using the HST/NICMOS camera. Infrared archival photometry and a spectrum showing the water ice band are used to model the spectral energy distribution under Mie scattering theory. Based on these data, we fit a model using the radiative transfer code MCFOST to retrieve the geometry and dust and ice content of the disk. PDS 453 has the typical morphology of a highly inclined system with two reflection nebulae where the disk partially attenuates the stellar light. The upper nebula is brighter than the lower nebula and shows a curved surface brightness profile in polarized intensity, indicating a ring-like structure. With an inclination of 80{\deg} estimated from models, the line-of-sight crosses the disk surface and a combination of absorption and scattering by ice-rich dust grains produces the water ice band. PDS 453 is seen highly inclined and is composed of a mixture of silicate dust and water ice. The radial structure of the disk includes a significant jump in density and scale height at a radius of 70 au in order to produce a ring-like image. The depth of the 3.1 $\mu$m water ice band depends on the amount of water ice, until it saturates when the optical thickness along the line-of-sight becomes too large. Therefore, quantifying the exact amount of water from absorption bands in edge-on disks requires a detailed analysis of the disk structure and tailored radiative transfer modeling.

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Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): PDS 111, an old T Tauri star with a young-looking disk

The interplay between T Tauri stars and their circumstellar disks, and how this impacts the onset of planet formation has yet to be established. We studied a seemingly old T Tauri star, PDS 111, and its disk. We analyzed optical, infrared, and sub-millimeter observations obtained with VLT/X-shooter, Mercator/HERMES, TESS, VLT/SPHERE, and ALMA, providing a new view on PDS 111 and its protoplanetary disk. The multi-epoch spectroscopy yields photospheric lines to classify the star, and emission lines to study variability in the hot inner disk and to determine the mass-accretion rate. The SPHERE and ALMA observations are used to characterize the dust distribution of the small and large grains, respectively. PDS 111 is a weak-line T Tauri star with spectral type G2, exhibits strong H$\alpha$ variability and with a low mass-accretion rate of $1-5\times10^{-10}$\,M$_{\odot}$\,yr$^{-1}$. We measured an age of the system of 15.9$^{+1.7}_{-3.7}$ Myr using pre-main sequence tracks. The SPHERE observations show a strongly flaring disk with an asymmetric substructure. The ALMA observations reveal a 30 au cavity in the dust continuum emission with a low contrast asymmetry in the South-West of the disk and a dust disk mass of 45.8\,$M_\oplus$. The $^{12}$CO radial extension is at least three times larger than that of the dust emission. Although the measured age is younger than suggested in literature, PDS 111 still seems relatively old; this provides insight into disk properties at an advanced stage of pre-main sequence evolution. The characteristics of this disk are very similar to its younger counterparts: strongly flaring, an average disk mass, a typical radial extent of the disk gas and dust, and the presence of common substructures. This suggests that disk evolution has not significantly changed the disk properties. These results show similarities with the "Peter Pan disks" around M-dwarfs.

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A broken debris cascade as a possible source of hot dust emission in transitioning planet-forming disks

Planet-forming disks turn from gas-rich, massive disks made of dust and gas into planetary systems containing only small amounts dust produced by collisions between smaller planetary objects like planetesimals, asteroids, or comets. Traditionally we talk about protoplanetary (age $\sim$1 Myr), transitional ($\sim$ 5-10 Myr), and debris disks ($\sim$ 10-hundreds of Myr), even though the overlap between these phases may be relevant. We aim to show that in the transition phase of a disk, when gas surface densities are reduced but not yet negligible, a seemingly small amount of collisional activity may lead to the production of dust on a level that is observationally relevant by creating regions of optical depth 1 or above. In particular, we aim to show that the hot dust emission component of transitional disks may in fact be debris dust produced in such collisions. We develop an analytical model to derive the conditions under which observationally relevant amounts of dust can be produced. We focus on the effect of the gas surface density during the transition phase of a disk from fully gas-dominated to the gas-poor debris stage. We show that the decrease of the gas surface density has an important effect. It allows smaller planetesimals to become collisional, starting a cascade. At the same time, small particles are not destroyed by collisions. That interrupted cascade is critical to preserve the produced dust for significant time intervals, allowing a seemingly minor amount of planetesimal collisions to be effective in producing detectable amounts of dust. The warm emission of low amounts of dust in many transitional planet-forming disks might be caused entirely by second-generation dust, exposing planetary material at a time much earlier than the age of what are traditionally considered as debris disks.

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The bouncing barrier revisited: Impact on key planet formation processes and observational signatures

Context. A leading paradigm in planet formation is currently the streaming instability and pebble accretion scenario. For this scenario, dust must grow into sizes in a specific regime of Stokes numbers in order to make these processes viable and sufficiently effective. The dust growth models currently in use do not implement some of the growth barriers suggested to be relevant in the literature. Aims. We want to investigate if the bouncing barrier, when effective, has impact on the time scales and efficiencies of processes like the streaming instability and pebble accretion, as well as on the observational appearance of planet-forming disks. Methods. We implement a formalism for the bouncing barrier into the publicly available dust growth model DustPy and run a series of models to understand the impact. Results. We find that the bouncing barrier has significant effect on the dust evolution in planet-forming disks. It reduces in many cases the size of the typical or largest particles available in the disk, it produces a very narrow, almost mono-disperse size distribution and removes most micrometer-sized grains in the process, with impact on scattered light images. It modifies the settling and therefore the effectiveness of and timescales for the streaming instability and for pebble accretion. An active bouncing barrier may well have observational consequences. It may reduce the strength if signatures of small particles (e.g. the 10 micron silicate feature), and it may create additional shadowed regions visible in scattered light images. Conclusions. Modeling of planet formation leaning heavily on the streaming instability and on pebble accretion should take the bouncing barrier into account. The complete removal of small grains in our model is not consistent with observations. However, this could be resolved by incomplete vertical mixing or some level of erosion in collisions.

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The polarisation properties of the HD 181327 debris ring. Evidence for sub-micron particles from scattered light observations

Polarisation is a powerful remote-sensing tool to study the nature of particles scattering the starlight. It is widely used to characterise interplanetary dust particles in the Solar System and increasingly employed to investigate extrasolar dust in debris discs' systems. We aim to measure the scattering properties of the dust from the debris ring around HD 181327 at near-infrared wavelengths. We obtained high-contrast polarimetric images of HD 181327 in the H band with the SPHERE / IRDIS instrument on the Very Large Telescope (ESO). We complemented them with archival data from HST / NICMOS in the F110W filter reprocessed in the context of the Archival Legacy Investigations of Circumstellar Environments (ALICE) project. We developed a combined forward-modelling framework to simultaneously retrieve the scattering phase function in polarisation and intensity. We detected the debris disc around HD 181327 in polarised light and total intensity. We measured the scattering phase function and the degree of linear polarisation of the dust at 1.6 micron in the birth ring. The maximum polarisation is 23.6% +/- 2.6% and occurs between a scattering angle of 70 deg and 82 deg. We show that compact spherical particles made of a highly refractive and relatively absorbing material in a differential power-law size distribution of exponent $-3.5$ can simultaneously reproduce the polarimetric and total intensity scattering properties of the dust. This type of material cannot be obtained with a mixture of silicates, amorphous carbon, water ice, and porosity, and requires a more refracting component such as iron-bearing minerals. We reveal a striking analogy between the near-infrared polarisation of comets and that of HD 181327. The methodology developed here combining VLT/SPHERE and HST/NICMOS may be applicable in the future to combine the polarimetric capabilities of SPHERE with the sensitivity of JWST.

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The effect of Jupiter on the CAI storage problem

By studying the distribution of calcium-aluminium-rich inclusions (CAIs) that are embedded within meteorites, we can learn about the dynamical history of the protoplanetary disk from which our Solar System formed. A long-standing problem concerning CAIs is the CAI storage problem. CAIs are thought to have formed at high temperatures near the Sun, but they are primarily found in carbonaceous chondrites, which formed much further out, beyond the orbit of Jupiter. Additionally, radial drift of CAI particles should have removed them from the solar protoplanetary disk several million years before the parent bodies of meteorites in which they are encountered would have accreted. We revisit a previously suggested solution to the CAI storage problem by Desch, Kalyaan, and Alexander which proposed that CAIs were mixed radially outward through the disk and subsequently got trapped in a pressure maximum created by Jupiter's growing core opening a planet gap. Our aim is to investigate whether their solution still works when we take into account the infall phase during which the disk builds up from the collapse of a molecular cloud core. We build a 1D numerical code in Python using the DISKLAB package to simulate the evolution of the solar protoplanetary disk, starting with a collapsing molecular cloud. We find that outward transport of CAIs during the infall phase is very efficient, possibly mixing them all the way into the far outer disk. Subsequent inward radial drift collects CAIs in the pressure maximum beyond Jupiter's orbit while draining the inner disk, roughly reproducing parts of the result by Desch et al. By introducing CAI formation so early, abundances out to 100 AU remain significant, possibly not consistent with some meteoritic data. It is possible to create a disk that does not expand as far out and also does not push CAIs as far out by using a very slowly rotating cloud.

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Fractal aggregates of sub-micron-sized grains in the young planet-forming disk around IM Lup

Despite rapidly growing disk observations, it remains a mystery what primordial dust aggregates look like and what the physical and chemical properties of their constituent grains (monomers) are in young planet-forming disks. Confrontation of models with observations to answer this mystery has been a notorious task because we have to abandon a commonly used assumption, perfectly spherical grains, and take into account particles with complex morphology. In this Letter, we present the first thorough comparison between near-infrared scattered light of the young planet-forming disk around IM Lup and the light-scattering properties of complex-shaped dust particles. The availability of scattering observations at multiple wavelengths and over a significant range of scattering angles allows for the first determination of the monomer size, fractal dimension, and size of dust aggregates in a planet-forming disk. We show that the observations are best explained by fractal aggregates with a fractal dimension of 1.5 and a characteristic radius larger than $\sim2~\mu$m. We also determined the radius of the monomer to be $\sim200$ nm, and monomers much smaller than this size can be ruled out on the premise that the fractal dimension is less than 2. Furthermore, dust composition comprising amorphous carbon is found to be favorable to simultaneously account for the faint scattered light and the flared disk morphology. Our results support that planet formation begins with fractal coagulation of sub-micron-sized grains. All the optical properties of complex dust particles computed in this study are publicly available.

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Observed polarized scattered light phase functions of planet-forming disks

Dust particles are the building blocks from which planetary bodies are made. A major goal of the studies of planet-forming disks is to constrain the properties of dust particles and aggregates in order to trace their origin, structure, and the associated growth and mixing processes in the disk. Observations of scattering and/or emission of dust in a location of the disk often lead to degenerate information about the kind of particles, such as size, porosity, or fractal dimension of aggregates. Progress can be made by deriving the full (polarizing) scattering phase function of such particles at multiple wavelengths. This has now become possible by careful extraction from scattered light images. Such an extraction requires knowledge about the shape of the scattering surface in the disk and we discuss how to obtain such knowledge as well as the associated uncertainties. We use a sample of disk images from observations with VLT/SPHERE to, for the first time, extract the phase functions of a whole sample of disks with broad phase angle coverage. We find that polarized phase functions come in two categories. Comparing the extracted functions with theoretical predictions from rigorous T-Matrix computations of aggregates, we show that one category can be linked back to fractal, porous aggregates, while the other is consistent with more compact, less porous aggregates. We speculate that the more compact particles become visible in disks where embedded planets trigger enhanced vertical mixing.

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Locating dust and molecules in the inner circumstellar environment of R~Sculptoris with MATISSE

AGB stars are one of the main sources of dust production in the Galaxy. However, it is not clear what this process looks like and where the dust is condensing in the circumstellar environment. By characterizing the location of the dust and the molecules in the close environment of an AGB star, we aim to achieve a better understanding the history of the dust formation process. We observed the carbon star R Scl with the VLTI-MATISSE instrument in L- and N-bands. The high angular resolution of the VLTI observations, combined with a large uv-plane coverage allowed us to use image reconstruction methods. To constrain the dust and molecules' location, we used two different methods: MIRA image reconstruction and the 1D code RHAPSODY. We found evidence of C2H2 and HCN molecules between 1 and 3.4 Rstar which is much closer to the star than the location of the dust (between 3.8 and 17.0 Rstar). We also estimated a mass-loss rate of 1.2+-0.4x10-6 Msun per yr. In the meantime, we confirmed the previously published characteristics of a thin dust shell, composed of amorphous carbon (amC) and silicon carbide (SiC). However, no clear SiC feature has been detected in the MATISSE visibilities. This might be caused by molecular absorption that can affect the shape of the SiC band at 11.3 micron. The appearance of the molecular shells is in good agreement with predictions from dynamical atmosphere models. For the first time, we co-located dust and molecules in the environment of an AGB star. We confirm that the molecules are located closer to the star than the dust. The MIRA images unveil the presence of a clumpy environment in the fuzzy emission region beyond 4.0 Rstar. Furthermore, with the available dynamic range and angular resolution, we did not detect the presence of a binary companion. Additional observations combining MATISSE and SAM-VISIR instrument should enable this detection in future studies.

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The dusty heart of Circinus: I. Imaging the circumnuclear dust in N-band

Active galactic nuclei play a key role in the evolution of galaxies, but their inner workings and physical connection to the host are poorly understood due to a lack of angular resolution. Infrared interferometry makes it possible to resolve the circumnuclear dust in the nearby Seyfert 2 galaxy, Circinus. Previous observations have revealed complex structures and polar dust emission but interpretation was limited to simple models. MATISSE makes it possible to image these structures for the first time. We observed the Circinus Galaxy with VLTI/MATISSE, producing 150 correlated flux spectra and 100 closure phase spectra. We reconstructed images in the N-band at ~10 mas resolution. We fit blackbody functions with dust extinction to several aperture-extracted fluxes from the images to produce a temperature distribution of central dusty structures. We find significant substructure in the circumnuclear dust: central unresolved flux of ~0.5 Jy, a thin disk 1.9 pc in diameter oriented along ~45 deg,and a ~4x1.5 pc polar emission extending orthogonal to the disk. The polar emission exhibits patchiness, which we attribute to clumpy dust. Flux enhancements to the east and west of the disk are seen for the first time. We distinguish the temperature profiles of the disk and of the polar emission: the disk shows a steep temperature gradient indicative of denser material; the polar profile is flatter, indicating clumpiness and/or lower dust density. The unresolved flux is fitted with a high temperature, ~370 K. The polar dust remains warm (~200 K) out to 1.5 pc from the disk. The recovered morphology and temperature distribution resembles modeling of accretion disks with radiation-driven winds at large scales, but we placed new constraints on the subparsec dust. The subparsec features imaged here place new constraints on the physical modeling of circumnuclear dust in active galaxies.

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How large are the monomers of dust aggregates in planet-forming disks?: Insights from quantitative optical and near-infrared polarimetry

Context: The size of the constituent particles (monomers) of dust aggregates is one of the most uncertain parameters directly affecting collisional growth of aggregates in planet-forming disks. Despite its importance, the monomer size has not yet been meaningfully constrained by disk observations. Aims: We attempt to derive the monomer size from optical and near-infrared (IR) polarimetric observations of planet-forming disks. Methods: We perform a comprehensive parameter survey on the degree of linear polarization of light scattered by dust aggregates, using an exact numerical method called the $T$-matrix method. We investigate the effect of the monomer size, aggregate size, porosity, and composition on the degree of polarization. The obtained results are then compared with observed polarization fractions of several planet-forming disks at optical and near-IR wavelengths. Results: It is shown that the degree of polarization of aggregates depends sensitively on the monomer size unless the monomer size parameter is smaller than one or two. Comparing the simulation results with the disk observations, we find that the monomer radius is no greater than $0.4~\mu$m. The inferred monomer size is therefore similar to subunit sizes of the solar system dust aggregates and the maximum size of interstellar grains. Conclusions: Optical and near-IR quantitative polarimetry will provide observational grounds on the initial conditions for dust coagulation and thereby planetesimal formation in planet-forming disks.

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Thermal imaging of dust hiding the black hole in the Active Galaxy NGC 1068

In the widely accepted 'Unified Model' solution of the classification puzzle of Active Galactic Nuclei, the orientation of a dusty accretion torus around the central black hole dominates their appearance. In 'type-1' systems, the bright nucleus is visible at the centre of a face-on torus. In 'type-2' systems the thick, nearly edge-on torus hides the central engine. Later studies suggested evolutionary effects and added dusty clumps and polar winds but left the basic picture intact. However, recent high-resolution images of the archetypal type-2 galaxy NGC 1068 suggested a more radical revision. They displayed a ring-like emission feature which the authors advocated to be hot dust surrounding the black hole at the radius where the radiation from the central engine evaporates the dust. That ring is too thin and too far tilted from edge-on to hide the central engine, and ad hoc foreground extinction is needed to explain the type-2 classification. These images quickly generated reinterpretations of the type 1-2 dichotomy. Here we present new multi-band mid-infrared images of NGC1068 that detail the dust temperature distribution and reaffirm the original model. Combined with radio data, our maps locate the central engine below the previously reported ring and obscured by a thick, nearly edge-on disk, as predicted by the Unified Model. We also identify emission from polar flows and absorbing dust that is mineralogically distinct from that towards the Milky Way centre.

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A Circumplanetary Disk Around PDS70c

PDS70 is a unique system in which two protoplanets, PDS70b and c, have been discovered within the dust-depleted cavity of their disk, at $\sim$22 and 34au respectively, by direct imaging at infrared wavelengths. Subsequent detection of the planets in the H$α$ line indicates that they are still accreting material through circumplanetary disks. In this Letter, we present new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the dust continuum emission at 855$μ$m at high angular resolution ($\sim$20mas, 2.3au) that aim to resolve the circumplanetary disks and constrain their dust masses. Our observations confirm the presence of a compact source of emission co-located with PDS70c, spatially separated from the circumstellar disk and less extended than $\sim$1.2au in radius, a value close to the expected truncation radius of the cicumplanetary disk at a third of the Hill radius. The emission around PDS70c has a peak intensity of $\sim$86$\pm$16 $μ\mathrm{Jy}~\mathrm{beam}^{-1}$ which corresponds to a dust mass of $\sim$0.031M$_{\oplus}$ or $\sim$0.007M$_{\oplus}$, assuming that it is only constituted of 1 $μ$m or 1 mm sized grains, respectively. We also detect extended, low surface brightness continuum emission within the cavity near PDS70b. We observe an optically thin inner disk within 18au of the star with an emission that could result from small micron-sized grains transported from the outer disk through the orbits of b and c. In addition, we find that the outer disk resolves into a narrow and bright ring with a faint inner shoulder.

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The radial structure of planetary bodies formed by the streaming instability

Comets and small planetesimals are believed to contain primordial building blocks in the form of millimeter to centimeter sized pebbles. One of the viable growing mechanisms to form these small bodies is through the streaming instability (SI) in which pebbles cluster and gravitationally collapse towards a planetesimal or comet in the presence of gas drag. However, most SI simulations are global and lack the resolution to follow the final collapse stage of a pebble cloud within its Hill radius. We aim to track the collapse of a gravitationally bound pebble cloud subject to mutual collisions and gas drag with the representative particle approach. We determine the radial pebble size distribution of the collapsed core and the impact of mutual pebble collisions on the pebble size distribution. We find that virial equilibrium is never reached during the cloud evolution and that, in general, pebbles with given Stokes number (St) collapse towards an optically thick core in a sequence from aerodynamically largest to aerodynamically smallest. We show that at the location for which the core becomes optically thick, the terminal velocity is well below the fragmentation threshold velocity. While collisional processing is negligible during cloud evolution, the collisions that do occur are sticking. These results support the observations that comets and small planetary bodies are composed of primordial pebbles in the milimeter to centimeter size range

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