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We present new high-contrast images in near-infrared wavelengths (λ c  = 1.04, 1.24, 1.62, 2.18, and 3.78 μm) of the young variable star CQ Tau, aiming to constrain the presence of companions in the protoplanetary disc. We reached a Ks -band contrast of 14 mag with SPHERE/IRDIS at separations greater than 0 |${_{.}^{\prime\prime}}$| 4 from the star. Our mass sensitivity curve rules out giant planets above 4 MJup immediately outside the spiral arms at ∼60 au and above 2–3 MJup beyond 100 au to 5σ confidence assuming hot-start models. We do, however, detect four spiral arms, a double-arc and evidence for shadows in scattered light cast by a misaligned inner disc. Our observations may be explained by an unseen close-in companion on an inclined and eccentric orbit. Such a hypothesis would also account for the disc CO cavity and disturbed kinematics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the mutual evolution of the orbital properties of high-mass ratio, circular, co-planar binaries and their surrounding discs, using 3D Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics simulations. We investigate the evolution of binary and disc eccentricity, cavity structure, and the formation of orbiting azimuthal overdense features in the disc. Even with circular initial conditions, all discs with mass ratios q > 0.05 develop eccentricity. We find that disc eccentricity grows abruptly after a relatively long time-scale (∼400–700 binary orbits), and is associated with a very small increase in the binary eccentricity. When disc eccentricity grows, the cavity semimajor axis reaches values |$a_{\rm cav}\approx 3.5\, a_{\rm bin}$|⁠. We also find that the disc eccentricity correlates linearly with the cavity size. Viscosity and orbit crossing appear to be responsible for halting the disc eccentricity growth – eccentricity at the cavity edge in the range e cav ∼ 0.05–0.35. Our analysis shows that the current theoretical framework cannot fully explain the origin of these evolutionary features when the binary is almost circular (e bin ≲ 0.01); we speculate about alternative explanations. As previously observed, we find that the disc develops an azimuthal overdense feature in Keplerian motion at the edge of the cavity. A low-contrast overdensity still co-moves with the flow after 2000 binary orbits; such an overdensity can in principle cause significant dust trapping, with important consequences for protoplanetary disc observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spiral arms in protoplanetary discs are thought to be linked to the presence of companions. We test the hypothesis that the double spiral arm morphology observed in the transition disc MWC 758 can be generated by an ≈10 M Jup companion on an eccentric orbit internal to the spiral arms. Previous studies on MWC 758 have assumed an external companion. We compare simulated observations from three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of disc–companion interaction to scattered light, infrared and CO molecular line observations, taking into account observational biases. The inner companion hypothesis is found to explain the double spiral arms, as well as several additional features seen in MWC 758 – the arc in the north-west, substructures inside the spiral arms, the cavity in CO isotopologues, and the twist in the kinematics. Testable predictions include detection of fainter spiral structure, detection of a point source south-southeast of the primary, and proper motion of the spiral arms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]