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Context. Protoplanetary disks surrounding young stars are the birth places of planets. Among them, transition disks with inner dust cavities of tens of au are sometimes suggested to host massive companions. Yet, such companions are often not detected. Aims. Some transition disks exhibit a large amount of gas inside the dust cavity and relatively high stellar accretion rates, which contradicts typical models of gas-giant-hosting systems. Therefore, we investigate whether a sequence of low-mass planets can create the appearance of cavities in the dust disk. Methods. We evolve the disks with low-mass growing embryos in combination with 1D dust transport and 3D pebble accretion, to investigate the reduction of the pebble flux at the embryos' orbits. We vary the planet and disk properties to understand the resulting dust profile. Results. We find that multiple pebble-accreting planets can efficiently decrease the dust surface density, resulting in dust cavities consistent with transition disks. The number of low-mass planets necessary to sweep up all pebbles decreases with decreasing turbulent strength and is preferred when the dust Stokes number is 10−2 − 10−4. Compared to dust rings caused by pressure bumps, those by efficient pebble accretion exhibit more extended outer edges. We also highlight the observational reflections: the transition disks with rings featuring extended outer edges tend to have a large gas content in the dust cavities and rather high stellar accretion rates. Conclusions. We propose that planet-hosting transition disks consist of two groups. In Group A disks, planets have evolved into gas giants, opening deep gaps in the gas disk. Pebbles concentrate in pressure maxima, forming dust rings. In Group B, multiple Neptunes (unable to open deep gas gaps) accrete incoming pebbles, causing the appearance of inner dust cavities and distinct ring-like structures near planet orbits. The morphological discrepancy of these rings may aid in distinguishing between the two groups using high-resolution ALMA observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sparse aperture masking interferometry (SAM) is a high-resolution observing technique that allows for imaging at and beyond a telescope’s diffraction limit. The technique is ideal for searching for stellar companions at small separations from their host star; however, previous analyses of SAM observations of young stars surrounded by dusty disks have had difficulties disentangling planet and extended disk emission. We analyze VLT/SPHERE-IRDIS SAM observations of the transition disk LkCa 15, model the extended disk emission, probe for planets at small separations, and improve contrast limits for planets. We fit geometrical models directly to the interferometric observables and recover previously observed extended disk emission. We use dynamic nested sampling to estimate uncertainties on our model parameters and to calculate evidences to perform model comparison. We compare our extended disk emission models against point-source models to robustly conclude that the system is dominated by extended emission within 50 au. We report detections of two previously observed asymmetric rings at ∼17 and ∼45 au. The peak brightness location of each model ring is consistent with the previous observations. We also, for the first time with imaging, robustly recover an elliptical Gaussian inner disk, previously inferred via SED fitting. This inner disk has an FWHM of 5 au and a similar inclination and orientation to the outer rings. Finally, we recover no clear evidence for candidate planets. By modeling the extended disk emission, we are able to place a lower limit on the near-infrared companion contrast of at least 1000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Planet–disc interactions build up local pressure maxima that may halt the radial drift of protoplanetary dust, and pile it up in rings and crescents. ALMA observations of the HD 135344B disc revealed two rings in the thermal continuum stemming from ∼mm-sized dust. At higher frequencies the inner ring is brighter relative to the outer ring, which is also shaped as a crescent rather than a full ring. In near-IR scattered light images, the disc is modulated by a two-armed grand-design spiral originating inside the ALMA inner ring. Such structures may be induced by a massive companion evacuating the central cavity, and by a giant planet in the gap separating both rings, that channels the accretion of small dust and gas through its filamentary wakes while stopping the larger dust from crossing the gap. Here we present ALMA observations in the J  = (2 − 1) CO isotopologue lines and in the adjacent continuum, with up to 12 km baselines. Angular resolutions of ∼0 |${_{.}^{\prime\prime}}$| 03 reveal the tentative detection of a filament connecting both rings, and which coincides with a local discontinuity in the pitch angle of the IR spiral, proposed previously as the location of the protoplanet driving this spiral. Line diagnostics suggests that turbulence, or superposed velocity components, is particularly strong in the spirals. The 12CO(2-1) 3D rotation curve points at stellocentric accretion at radii within the inner dust ring, with a radial velocity of up to |${\sim}5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}\pm 0.5{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$| Keplerian, which corresponds to an excessively large accretion rate of |${\sim}2\times 10^{-6}\, M_\odot \,$| yr−1 if all of the CO layer follows the 12CO(2-1) kinematics. This suggests that only the surface layers of the disc are undergoing accretion, and that the line broadening is due to superposed laminar flows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of a protoplanetary disk around the T Tauri star Sz 84 and analyses of the structures of the inner cavity in the central region of the dust disk. Sz 84's spectral energy distribution (SED) has been known to exhibit negligible infrared excess at λ ≲ 10 μm due to the disk's cavity structure. Analyses of the observed visibilities of dust continuum at 1.3 mm and the SED indicate that the size of the cavity in the disk of large (millimeter size) dust grains is 8 au in radius and that in the disk of small (submicron size) dust grains is 60 au in radius. Furthermore, from the SED analyses, we estimate that the upper limit mass of small dust grains at r < 60 au is less than ∼10−3 M⊕, which is ≲0.01% of the total (small + large) dust mass at r < 60 au. These results suggest that large dust grains are dominant at r < 60 au, implying that dust grains efficiently grow with less efficient fragmentation in this region, potentially due to weak turbulence and/or stickier dust grains. The balance of grain growth and dust fragmentation is an important factor for determining the size of large dust grains in protoplanetary disks, and thus Sz 84 could serve as a good testbed for investigations of grain growth in such disks. [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]

The protoplanetary disk around Ophiuchus IRS 48 shows an azimuthally asymmetric dust distribution in (sub)millimeter observations, which is interpreted as a vortex, where millimeter/centimeter-sized particles are trapped at the location of the continuum peak. In this paper, we present 860 μm ALMA observations of polarized dust emission from this disk. The polarized emission was detected toward a part of the disk. The polarization vectors are parallel to the disk minor axis, and the polarization fraction was derived to be 1%–2%. These characteristics are consistent with models of self-scattering of submillimeter-wave emission, which indicate a maximum grain size of ∼100 μm. However, this is inconsistent with the previous interpretation of millimeter/centimeter dust particles being trapped by a vortex. To explain both ALMA polarization and previous ALMA and Very Large Array observations, we suggest that the thermal emission at 860 μm wavelength is optically thick (τabs ∼ 7.3) at the dust trap with a maximum observable grain size of ∼100 μm rather than an optically thin case with centimeter-sized dust grains. We note that we cannot rule out that larger dust grains are accumulated near the midplane if the 860 μm thermal emission is optically thick. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the first resolved near-infrared imagery of the transition disk Oph IRS 48 (WLY 2-48), which was recently observed with ALMA to have a strongly asymmetric submillimeter flux distribution. H-band polarized intensity images show a ~60 AU radius scattered light cavity with two pronounced arcs of emission, one from northeast to southeast and one smaller, fainter, and more distant arc in the northwest. K-band scattered light imagery reveals a similar morphology, but with a clear third arc along the southwestern rim of the disk cavity. This arc meets the northwestern arc at nearly a right angle, revealing the presence of a spiral arm or local surface brightness deficit in the disk, and explaining the east-west brightness asymmetry in the H-band data. We also present 0.8-5.4 µm IRTF SpeX spectra of this object, which allow us to constrain the spectral class to A0±1 and measure a low mass accretion rate of 10-8.5 M⊙ yr-1, both consistent with previous estimates. We investigate a variety of reddening laws in order to fit the multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of Oph IRS 48 and find a best fit consistent with a younger, higher luminosity star than previous estimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context. Transition disks are recognized by the absence of emission of small dust grains inside a radius of up to several 10s of AUs. Owing to the lack of angular resolution and sensitivity, the gas content of these dust holes has not yet been determined, but is of importance for constraining the mechanism leading to the dust holes. It is thought that transition disks are currently undergoing the process of dispersal, setting an end to the giant planet formation process. Aims. We present new high-resolution observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) of gas lines towards the transition disk Oph IRS 48 previously shown to host a large dust trap. The ALMA telescope has detected the J = 6-5 line of 12CO and C17O around 690 GHz (434 μm) at a resolution of ~0.25" corresponding to ~30 AU (FWHM). The observed gas lines are used to set constraints on the gas surface density profile. Methods. New models of the physical-chemical structure of gas and dust in Oph IRS 48 are developed to reproduce the CO line emission together with the spectral energy distribution and the VLT-VISIR 18.7 μm dust continuum images. Integrated intensity cuts and the total spectrum from models having different trial gas surface density profiles are compared to observations. The main parameters varied are the drop in gas surface density inside the dust-free cavity with a radius of 60 AU and inside the gas-depleted innermost 20 AU. Using the derived surface density profiles, predictions for other CO isotopologues are made, which can be tested by future ALMA observations of the object. Results. From the ALMA data we find a total gas mass of the disk of 1.4 × 10-4 M☉. This gas mass yields a gas-to-dust ratio of ~10, but with considerable uncertainty. Inside 60 AU, the gas surface density drops by a factor of ~12 for an assumed surface density slope of γ = 1 (Σ ∝ r-γ). Inside 20 AU, the gas surface density drops by a factor of at least 110. The drops are measured relative to the extrapolation to small radii of the surface density law at radii >60 AU. The inner radius of the gas disk at 20 AU can be constrained to better than ±5 AU. Conclusions. The derived gas surface density profile points to the clearing of the cavity by one or more massive planets/companions rather than just photoevaporation or grain-growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The statistics of discovered exoplanets suggest that planets form efficiently. However, there are fundamental unsolved problems, such as excessive inward drift of particles in protoplanetary disks during planet formation. Recent theories invoke dust traps to overcome this problem. We report the detection of a dust trap in the disk around the star Oph IRS 48 using observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). The 0.44-millimeter-wavelength continuum map shows high-contrast crescent-shaped emission on one side of the star, originating from millimeter-sized grains, whereas both the mid-infrared image (micrometer-sized dust) and the gas traced by the carbon monoxide 6-5 rotational line suggest rings centered on the star. The difference in distribution of big grains versus small grains/gas can be modeled with a vortex-shaped dust trap triggered by a companion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]