A new grid of disk models with grain-surface CO chemistry plus an ML inference tool produces gas mass estimates from ALMA observations that match independent dynamical and HD values without requiring extreme elemental depletion.
The VLA view of the HL Tau Disk - Disk Mass, Grain Evolution, and Early Planet Formation
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abstract
The first long-baseline ALMA campaign resolved the disk around the young star HL Tau into a number of axisymmetric bright and dark rings. Despite the very young age of HL Tau these structures have been interpreted as signatures for the presence of (proto)planets. The ALMA images triggered numerous theoretical studies based on disk-planet interactions, magnetically driven disk structures, and grain evolution. Of special interest are the inner parts of disks, where terrestrial planets are expected to form. However, the emission from these regions in HL Tau turned out to be optically thick at all ALMA wavelengths, preventing the derivation of surface density profiles and grain size distributions. Here, we present the most sensitive images of HL Tau obtained to date with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array at 7.0 mm wavelength with a spatial resolution comparable to the ALMA images. At this long wavelength the dust emission from HL Tau is optically thin, allowing a comprehensive study of the inner disk. We obtain a total disk dust mass of 0.001 - 0.003 Msun, depending on the assumed opacity and disk temperature. Our optically thin data also indicate fast grain growth, fragmentation, and formation of dense clumps in the inner densest parts of the disk. Our results suggest that the HL Tau disk may be actually in a very early stage of planetary formation, with planets not already formed in the gaps but in the process of future formation in the bright rings.
fields
astro-ph.EP 2years
2026 2verdicts
UNVERDICTED 2representative citing papers
SKA-Mid Band 5b continuum observations at 12.5 GHz will resolve disk substructures at ~0.05 arcsec to investigate their origin and role in planet assembly.
citing papers explorer
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DiskMINT-GARDEN: Self-consistent Models to Estimate Disk Masses
A new grid of disk models with grain-surface CO chemistry plus an ML inference tool produces gas mass estimates from ALMA observations that match independent dynamical and HD values without requiring extreme elemental depletion.
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Substructures in Planet-Forming Disks with the SKAO
SKA-Mid Band 5b continuum observations at 12.5 GHz will resolve disk substructures at ~0.05 arcsec to investigate their origin and role in planet assembly.