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| Paper: |
Detection of Circumplanetary Disks |
| Monograph: |
7, Science with a Next Generation Very Large Array |
| Page: |
193 |
| Authors: |
Zhu, Z.; Andrews, S. M.; Isella, A. |
| Abstract: |
In the early phase of their formation and evolution, gaseous giant planets are expected to be surrounded by dense disks made of gas and dust generally referred as circumplanetary disks (CPDs).
Similar to circumstellar disks, CPDs control the final mass of planets and are the birth places of moons, which, as in the case of Europa, might be prime locations for harboring life.
The study of CPDs is fundamental for at least three reasons:
(i) CPDs pinpoint the location of planets in formation, which might not be detectable by any other means,
(ii) the structure of CPDs provide information on the physical processes responsible for the formation of giant planets, and
(iii) the investigating CPDs will allow us to understand the formation of moons.
In this study we show that the ngVLA, thanks to its unprecedented sensitivity and angular resolution, will be able to find CPDs in nearby star forming regions and measure their masses, temperatures, and radii.
The combination of ngVLA and ALMA observations at shorter wavelengths should constrain the optical depth and dust properties of CPDs.
Furthermore, ngVLA observations could reveal jets and winds arising from CPDs, providing key information on the planet mass accretion process.
Finally, theory predicts that future 30 meter class optical/infrared telescopes, and to a more limited extent JWST, could detect thermal emission from CPDs.
The combination of multi-wavelength observations of CPDs would constrain the thermal history of forming planets and shed light on their formation. |
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