Probing the presence of planets in transition discs' cavities via warps: the case of TW Hya
- Creators
- Facchini, Stefano
- Ricci, Luca
- Lodato, Giuseppe
Abstract
We are entering the era in which observations of protoplanetary disc's properties can indirectly probe the presence of massive planets or low-mass stellar companions interacting with the disc. In particular, the detection of warped discs can provide important clues to the properties of the star–disc system. In this paper, we show how observations of warped discs can be used to infer the dynamical properties of the systems. We concentrate on circumbinary discs, where the mass of the secondary can be planetary. First, we provide some simple relations that link the amplitude of the warp in the linear regime to the parameters of the system. Secondly, we apply our method to the case of TW Hya, a transition disc for which a warp has been proposed based on spectroscopic observations. Assuming values for the disc and stellar parameters from observations, we conclude that, in order for a warp induced by a planetary companion to be detectable, the planet mass should be large (M_p ≈ 10–14M_J) and the disc should be viscous (α ≈ 0.15–0.25). We also apply our model to LkCa 15 and T Cha, where a substellar companion has been detected within the central cavity of the transition discs.
Additional Information
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Accepted 2014 June 6. Received 2014 June 5; in original form 2014 March 21. First published online July 3, 2014. We thank the referee, whose comments helped improving the manuscript. We thank Cathie Clarke for stimulating discussion. SF thanks the Science and Technology Facility Council and the Isaac Newton Trust for the award of a studentship. GL acknowledges financial support from PRIN MIUR 2010-2011, project 'The Chemical and Dynamical Evolution of the Milky Way and Local Group Galaxies', prot. 2010LY5N2T.Attached Files
Published - MNRAS-2014-Facchini-3700-10.pdf
Submitted - 1406.2708v1.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 49222
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20140904-080348601
- 2010LY5N2T
- PRIN MIUR
- STFC (United Kingdom)
- Isaac Newton Trust
- Created
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2014-09-04Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-10Created from EPrint's last_modified field