Resolved Planet-Forming Disk Database
OVERVIEW
(Previously known as the “Transitional Disk Database”)
The disks of gas and dusk surrounding young stars are the birthplace of planets. Thus, by studying these disks, we gain critical insights into the formation pathways and composition of planets. High-resolution imagery of planet-forming disks has revealed the presence of a variety of morphological features, including rings, spirals, arcs, and shadows. These substructures, which appear at different rates and on different scales in the dust and gas components of the disk, are thought to form as the disk evolves. They thought to be driven by host star and disk properties, as well as disk-planet interactions.
As the number of directly imaged disks continues to rapidly increase, this project aims to track available data on these disk systems and enable the study of the population of directly imaged circumstellar disks by comparing substructures across the three primary tracers of disk structure (sub-mm continuum, optical and NIR scattered light, and molecular line emission) for a large sample of objects.
We are also in the process of developing a GUI that allows for exploration of the compiled archival data. In order to facilitate the comparison of morphology across wavelengths and classifications, it uses radial and azimuthal intensity profiles to quantitatively characterize the type, location, and extent of substructures.
PEOPLE
PAPERS & PRESENTATIONS
A Multiwavelength, Quantitative View of Morphological Substructures in Resolved Planet-Forming Disks
High-resolution imagery of planet-forming disks has revealed the presence of a variety of morphological features, including rings, spirals, arcs, and shadows. In order to develop a quantitative picture of morphology in the population of resolved planet-forming disks, we need to study a large sample of high resolution imagery in multiple wavelengths. We present a large database of resolved planet-forming disks, combining literature stellar and disk properties with archival imagery from ALMA, SPHERE, SEEDS, and GPI
Developing the Flexible Image Gallery Generator (FIGG) to Explore Transitional Disk Substructures
We developed the Flexible Image Gallery Generator (FIGG) Python package to provide a powerful processing tool for constructing image grids through a straightforward user interface. FIGG allows for a user to crop, normalize, mask, label, and display a set of .fits format science images using a simple Google Sheets interface. We utilized FIGG to examine a set of newly-compiled near-infrared images of transitional disks from an international collaboration between the VLT-SPHERE, GPI, and Subaru teams. Applying FIGG to this image set, we were able to visualize and compare substructures within the population despite the large variation in spatial and flux scales across spectral types, distances, and instruments.
Optical and Near-infrared View of Planet-forming Disks and Protoplanets
In this chapter of the Protostars and Planets VII, we review the breakthrough progress that has been made in the field of high-resolution, high-contrast optical and near-infrared imaging of planet-forming disks. These advancements include the direct detection of protoplanets embedded in some disks, and derived limits on planetary masses in others. Morphological substructures, including: rings, spirals, arcs, and shadows, are seen in all imaged infrared-bright disks to date, and are ubiquitous across spectral types.
Ongoing Work
Coming Soon!