Gap and rings carved by vortices in protoplanetary dust

Abstract

Large-scale vortices in protoplanetary disks are thought to form and survive for long periods of time. Hence, they can significantly change the global disk evolution and particularly the distribution of the solid particles embedded in the gas, possibly explaining asymmetries and dust concentrations recently observed at sub-millimeter and millimeter wavelengths. We investigate the spatial distribution of dust grains using a simple model of protoplanetary disk hosted by a giant gaseous vortex. We explore the dependence of the results on grain size and deduce possible consequences and predictions for observations of the dust thermal emission at sub-millimeter and millimeter wavelengths. Global 2D simulations with a bi-fluid code are used to follow the evolution of a single population of solid particles aerodynamically coupled to the gas. Possible observational signatures of the dust thermal emission are obtained using simulators of ALMA and ngVLA observations. We find that a giant vortex not only captures dust grains with Stokes number St < 1 but can also affect the distribution of larger grains (with St '~' 1) carving a gap associated to a ring composed of incompletely trapped particles. The results are presented for different particle size and associated to their possible signatures in disk observations. Gap clearing in the dust spatial distribution could be due to the interaction with a giant gaseous vortex and their associated spiral waves, without the gravitational assistance of a planet. Hence, strong dust concentrations at short sub-mm wavelengths associated with a gap and an irregular ring at longer mm and cm wavelengths could indicate the presence of an unseen gaseous vortex.

11 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in A&A

References in corpus (4)

• Protoplanetary disk masses from CO isotopologues line emission
• Dust sedimentation and self-sustained Kelvin-Helmholtz turbulence in protoplanetary disk mid-planes. I. Radially symmetric simulations
• Effects of dust feedback on vortices in protoplanetary disks
• Convective overstability in accretion disks: 3D linear analysis and nonlinear saturation

Cited by in corpus (8)

• The newborn planet population emerging from ring-like structures in discs
• Anisotropic Infall and Substructure formation in Embedded Disks
• Dust concentration and emission in protoplanetary disks vortices
• DPNNet-2.0 Part I: Finding hidden planets from simulated images of protoplanetary disk gaps
• ALMA constraints on assembly of Core Accretion planets
• A Machine Learning model to infer planet masses from gaps observed in protoplanetary disks
• Imaging the Dusty Substructures due to Terrestrial Planets in Planet-forming Disks with ALMA and the Next Generation Very Large Array
• Formation of ring-like structures in flared α-discs with X-ray/FUV photoevaporation