Circumplanetary disk

Circumplanetary disk around exoplanet PDS 70c

A circumplanetary disk (or circumplanetary disc) is a torus, pancake or ring-shaped accumulation of matter composed of gas, dust, planetesimals, asteroids or collision fragments in orbit around a planet. Around the planets, they are the reservoirs of material out of which moons (or exomoons or subsatellites) may form.[1] Such a disk can manifest itself in various ways.

In August 2018 astronomers reported the probable detection of a circumplanetary disk around CS Cha B.[2] The authors state that "The CS Cha system is the only system in which a circumplanetary disc is likely present as well as a resolved circumstellar disc."[3] In 2020 though, the parameters of CS Cha B were revised, making it an accreting red dwarf star, and making the disk circumstellar.[4]

In June 2019 astronomers reported the detection of evidence of a circumplanetary disk around PDS 70b[5] using spectroscopy and accretion signatures. Both types of these signatures were also detected for other planetary candidates before. A later infrared characterization could not confirm the spectroscopic evidence for the disk around PDS 70b and reports weak evidence that the current data favors a model with a single blackbody component.[6] In July 2019 astronomers reported the first-ever detection using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)[7][8][9] of a circumplanetary disk.[7][8][10] ALMA studies, using millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths, are better at observing dust concentrated in interplanetary regions, since stars emit comparatively little light at these wavelengths, and since optical observations are often fraught with overwhelming glare from the bright host star.

The circumplanetary disk was detected around a young massive, Jupiter-like exoplanet, PDS 70c; another such disk may have been detected around the related massive, Jupiter-like exoplanet, PDS 70b, as well.[7][8][10] These exoplanets are part of the multiplanetary PDS 70 star system, about 370 light-years (110 parsecs) from Earth.[11]

According to Andrea Isella, lead researcher from the Rice University in Houston, Texas, "For the first time, we can conclusively see the tell-tale signs of a circumplanetary disk, which helps to support many of the current theories of planet formation ... By comparing our observations to the high-resolution infrared and optical images, we can clearly see that an otherwise enigmatic concentration of tiny dust particles is actually a planet-girding disk of dust, the first such feature ever conclusively observed."[9] Jason Wang from Caltech, lead researcher of another publication describes, "if a planet appears to sit on top of the disk, which is the case with PDS 70c"[12] then the signal around PDS 70c needs to be spatially separated from the outer ring, not the case in 2019. However, in July 2021 higher resolution, conclusively resolved data were presented.[13]

Possible circumplanetary disks have also been detected around Cha 110913−773444,[14] J1407b,[15] HD 100546 b,[16] GSC 06214-00210 b,[17] DH Tauri b,[18] AS 209 b,[19] and HD 169142 b.[20]

2M1207b was suspected to have a circumplanetary disk in the past.[21] New observations from JWST/NIRSpec were able to confirm accretion from an unseen disk by detecting emission from hydrogen and helium. The classification of a circumplanetary disk is however being disputed because 2M1207b (or 2M1207B) might be classified as a binary together with 2M1207A and not an exoplanet. This would make the disk around 2M1207b a circumstellar disk, despite not being around a star, but around a 5-6 MJup planetary-mass object.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ Parks, Jake (8 November 2021). "Snapshot: ALMA spots moon-forming disk around distant exoplanet - This stellar shot serves as the first unambiguous detection of a circumplanetary disk capable of brewing its own moon". Astronomy. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  2. ^ Ginski, Christian (August 2018). "First direct detection of a polarized companion outside a resolved circumbinary disk around CS Chamaeleonis". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 616 (79): 18. arXiv:1805.02261. Bibcode:2018A&A...616A..79G. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201732417.
  3. ^ Starr, Michelle. "Astronomers Have Accidentally Taken a Direct Photo of a Possible Baby Exoplanet". Retrieved 10 October 2019.
  4. ^ Haffert, S. Y.; Van Holstein, R. G.; Ginski, C.; Brinchmann, J.; Snellen, I. A. G.; Milli, J.; Stolker, T.; Keller, C. U.; Girard, J. (2020), "CS Cha B: A disc-obscured M-type star mimicking a polarised planetary companion", Astronomy & Astrophysics, 640: L12, arXiv:2007.07831, Bibcode:2020A&A...640L..12H, doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038706, S2CID 220525346
  5. ^ Christiaens, Valentin (June 2019). "Evidence for a circumplanetary disk around protoplanet PDS 70 b". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 877 (2): L33. arXiv:1905.06370. Bibcode:2019ApJ...877L..33C. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab212b. S2CID 155100321.
  6. ^ Stolker, T.; Marleau, G.-D.; Cugno, G.; Mollière, P.; Quanz, S. P.; Todorov, K. O.; Kühn, J. (December 2020). "MIRACLES: atmospheric characterization of directly imaged planets and substellar companions at 4–5 μ m: II. Constraints on the mass and radius of the enshrouded planet PDS 70 b". Astronomy & Astrophysics. 644: A13. arXiv:2009.04483. Bibcode:2020A&A...644A..13S. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202038878. ISSN 0004-6361.
  7. ^ a b c Isella, Andrea; et al. (11 July 2019). "Detection of Continuum Submillimeter Emission Associated with Candidate Protoplanets". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 879 (2): L25. arXiv:1906.06308. Bibcode:2019ApJ...879L..25I. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ab2a12. S2CID 189897829.
  8. ^ a b c Blue, Charles E. (11 July 2019). "'Moon-forming' Circumplanetary Disk Discovered in Distant Star System". National Radio Astronomy Observatory. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b Carne, Nick (13 July 2019). "'Moon-forming' disk found in distant star system - Discovery helps confirm theories of planet formation, astronomers say". Cosmos. Archived from the original on 12 July 2019. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  10. ^ a b Boyd, Jade (11 July 2019). "Moon-forming disk discovered around distant planet". Phys.org. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  11. ^ Mandelbaum, Ryan F. (12 July 2019). "Astronomers Think They've Spotted a Moon Forming Around an Exoplanet". Gizmodo. Retrieved 12 July 2019.
  12. ^ Observatory, W. M. Keck. "Astronomers confirm existence of two giant newborn planets in PDS 70 system". phys.org. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  13. ^ Benisty, Myriam; Bae, Jaehan; Facchini, Stefano; Keppler, Miriam; Teague, Richard; Isella, Andrea; Kurtovic, Nicolas T.; Pérez, Laura M.; Sierra, Anibal; Andrews, Sean M.; Carpenter, John (1 July 2021). "A Circumplanetary Disk around PDS70c". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 916 (1): L2. arXiv:2108.07123. Bibcode:2021ApJ...916L...2B. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac0f83. ISSN 2041-8205. S2CID 236186222.
  14. ^ Luhman, K. L.; et al. (December 2005). "Discovery of a Planetary-Mass Brown Dwarf with a Circumstellar Disk". The Astrophysical Journal. 635 (1): L93–L96. arXiv:astro-ph/0511807. Bibcode:2005ApJ...635L..93L. doi:10.1086/498868. S2CID 11685964.
  15. ^ Mamajek, Eric E.; et al. (March 2012). "Planetary Construction Zones in Occultation: Discovery of an Extrasolar Ring System Transiting a Young Sun-like Star and Future Prospects for Detecting Eclipses by Circumsecondary and Circumplanetary Disks". The Astronomical Journal. 143 (3): 72. arXiv:1108.4070. Bibcode:2012AJ....143...72M. doi:10.1088/0004-6256/143/3/72. S2CID 55818711.
  16. ^ Quanz, Sascha P.; et al. (July 2015). "Confirmation and Characterization of the Protoplanet HD 100546 b—Direct Evidence for Gas Giant Planet Formation at 50 AU". The Astrophysical Journal. 807 (1): 64. arXiv:1412.5173. Bibcode:2015ApJ...807...64Q. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/807/1/64. S2CID 119119314.
  17. ^ Bowler, Brendan P.; et al. (June 2015). "An ALMA Constraint on the GSC 6214-210 B Circum-Substellar Accretion Disk Mass". The Astrophysical Journal. 805 (2): L17. arXiv:1505.01483. Bibcode:2015ApJ...805L..17B. doi:10.1088/2041-8205/805/2/L17. S2CID 29008641.
  18. ^ Wolff, Schuyler G.; et al. (July 2017). "An Upper Limit on the Mass of the Circumplanetary Disk for DH Tau b". The Astronomical Journal. 154 (1): 26. arXiv:1705.08470. Bibcode:2017AJ....154...26W. doi:10.3847/1538-3881/aa74cd. S2CID 119339454.
  19. ^ Bae, Jaehan; et al. (August 2022). "Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS): A Circumplanetary Disk Candidate in Molecular-line Emission in the AS 209 Disk". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 934 (2): 20. arXiv:2207.05923. Bibcode:2022ApJ...934L..20B. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ac7fa3. S2CID 250492936.
  20. ^ Hammond, Iain; Christiaens, Valentin; Price, Daniel J.; Toci, Claudia; Pinte, Christophe; Juillard, Sandrine; Garg, Himanshi (23 February 2023). "Confirmation and Keplerian motion of the gap-carving protoplanet HD 169142 B". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters. 522: L51–L55. arXiv:2302.11302. doi:10.1093/mnrasl/slad027.
  21. ^ Mohanty, Subhanjoy; et al. (March 2007). "The Planetary Mass Companion 2MASS 1207-3932B: Temperature, Mass, and Evidence for an Edge-on Disk". The Astrophysical Journal. 657 (2): 1064–1091. arXiv:astro-ph/0610550. Bibcode:2007ApJ...657.1064M. doi:10.1086/510877. S2CID 17326111.
  22. ^ Luhman, K. L.; Tremblin, P.; Birkmann, S. M.; Manjavacas, E.; Valenti, J.; Alves de Oliveira, C.; Beck, T. L.; Giardino, G.; Lützgendorf, N.; Rauscher, B. J.; Sirianni, M. (1 June 2023). "JWST/NIRSpec Observations of the Planetary Mass Companion TWA 27B". The Astrophysical Journal. 949 (2): L36. arXiv:2305.18603. Bibcode:2023ApJ...949L..36L. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/acd635. ISSN 0004-637X.

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