The Dynamical Mass of a Protoplanetary Disk

Elias 2-27 is a 0.8 Myr old M-star, with a massive protoplanetary disk. The disk has a 14 AU wide gap at 69 AU radius, suggesting a 0.1MJ  forming planet. Atacama Large Millimeter / submillimeter Array (ALMA) imaging of the dust and CO 3-2 emission reveals spiral arms, and a rotating disk, providing the first dynamical mass estimate of a protoplanetary disk, with: Mstar = 0.46 M⊙ and  Mdisk = 0.08 M⊙. Departures from Keplerian rotation suggest instabilities which may lead to planet formation.

Image Caption: ALMA imaging of the protoplanetary disk of Elias 2-27. [Left] 3.3mm dust emission. [Center &and Right] 13CO 3-2 total intensity and the velocity field 

Publication-1: Benedetta Veronesi (Universita degli Studi di Milano) et al., A Dynamical Measurement of the Disk Mass in Elias 2-27, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 914, L27 (June 2021).

Publication-2: Teresa Paneque-Carreño (Universidad de Chile) et al., Spiral Arms and a Massive Dust Disk with Non-Keplerian Kinematics: Possible Evidence for Gravitational Instability in the Disk of Elias 2-27, Astrophysical Journal, 914, 88 (June 2021).

NRAO Press Release: Study of Young Chaotic Star System Reveals Planet Formation Secrets

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