Testing planet formation from the ultraviolet to the millimeter
Abstract
Gaps imaged in protoplanetary discs are suspected to be opened by planets. We compute the present-day mass accretion rates of seven hypothesized gap-embedded planets, plus the two confirmed planets in the PDS 70 disc. The accretion rates are based on disc gas surface densities from CO observations, and planet masses from simulations fitted to observed gaps. Assuming accretion is Bondi-like, we find in eight out of nine cases that is consistent with the time-averaged value given by the current planet mass and system age, . As system ages are comparable to circumstellar disc lifetimes, these gap-opening planets may be undergoing their last mass doublings, reaching final masses of for the non-PDS 70 planets, and for the PDS 70 planets. For another fifteen gaps without CO data, we predict by assuming their planets are accreting at their time-averaged . Bondi accretion rates for PDS 70b and c are orders of magnitude higher than accretion rates implied by measured U-band and H fluxes, suggesting most of the accretion shock luminosity emerges in as yet unobserved wavebands, or that the planets are surrounded by dusty, highly extincting, quasi-spherical circumplanetary envelopes. Thermal emission from such envelopes or from circumplanetary discs, on Hill sphere scales, peaks at wavelengths in the mid-to-far-infrared and can reproduce observed mm-wave excesses.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2110.00029,
title = {Testing planet formation from the ultraviolet to the millimeter},
author = {Nick Choksi and Eugene Chiang},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2110.00029},
year = {2021}
}
Comments
Accepted to MNRAS. Discussion on PDS 70 moved to a new Section 3.3