What makes exoplanets habitable? BARBARA ERCOLANO pursues this overarching question by focusing on the birth sites of these planets. Planets are born in the circumstellar disk that surrounds every young star. The specific research question presented in this video centers on the star TW Hydrae, which is very close to earth. The researchers investigated whether the T Tauri star “TW Hydrae” has a protoplanetary disk that is on the verge of dispersal. At this stage these disks affect the formation of planetary systems. Observations from ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array) show that there is a hole at the center of TW Hydrae. Using numerical simulations to construct a theoretical model that fits all the observations of the star, the researchers established that the most likely explanation of this hole is that TW Hydrae is really about to disperse. This finding suggests TW Hydrae as a perfect case study for understanding this crucial element in the development of protoplanetary disks.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21036/LTPUB10438
Institution
Ludwig Maximilian University Munich (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)
"LMU Munich is one of the leading universities in Europe. Carrying on a tradition that goes back over 500 years, LMU offers challenging study programs and provides an ideal environment for top-level research. "Introducing LMU" gives an insight into learning and teaching as well as research and life at LMU." ( Source )
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Original publication
The Dispersal of Planet-forming Discs: Theory Confronts Observations
Royal Society Open Science
Published in 2017
A Photoevaporative Gap in the Closest Planet-forming Disc
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Published in 2017
The Link Between Disc Dispersal by Photoevaporation and the Semimajor Axis Distribution of Exoplanets
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Published in 2015
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