Peering into the Giant Planet Forming Region of the TW Hydrae Disk with the Gemini Planet Imager

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution polarized imaging to reveal a gap in the TW Hydrae disk, suggesting the presence of a young planet approximately the mass of Uranus, providing insights into planet formation.

Contribution

First direct imaging evidence of a gap in the TW Hydrae disk, indicating a potential young planet at 23 AU, advancing understanding of planet formation in protoplanetary disks.

Findings

Confirmed a 23 AU gap in the disk surface brightness.

Estimated a planet mass of about 0.2 Jupiter masses.

Suggested the planet could be actively accreting gas.

Abstract

We present Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) adaptive optics near-infrared images of the giant planet-forming regions of the protoplanetary disk orbiting the nearby (D = 54 pc), pre-main sequence (classical T Tauri) star TW Hydrae. The GPI images, which were obtained in coronagraphic/polarimetric mode, exploit starlight scattered off small dust grains to elucidate the surface density structure of the TW Hya disk from 80 AU to within 10 AU of the star at 1.5 AU resolution. The GPI polarized intensity images unambiguously confirm the presence of a gap in the radial surface brightness distribution of the inner disk. The gap is centered near 23 AU, with a width of 5 AU and a depth of 50%. In the context of recent simulations of giant planet formation in gaseous, dusty disks orbiting pre-main sequence stars, these results indicate that at least one young planet with a mass 0.2 M_J could be present in the TW Hya disk at an orbital semi-major axis similar to that of Uranus. If this (proto)planet is actively accreting gas from the disk, it may be readily detectable by GPI or a similarly sensitive, high-resolution infrared imaging system.