New insights into the nature of transition disks from a complete disk survey of the Lupus star forming region

TL;DR

This study analyzes 11 transition disks with large cavities in the Lupus star forming region using ALMA observations, revealing insights into disk structures, potential planet formation, and evolutionary pathways.

Contribution

First complete survey of large-cavity transition disks in Lupus, providing statistical analysis and physical-chemical modeling of gas and dust profiles.

Findings

Large dust cavities (20-90 AU) often coincide with gas cavities, suggesting planet formation.

The fraction of large-cavity transition disks (~11%) in Lupus is lower than expected from exoplanet statistics.

Evidence supports an evolutionary pathway from massive disks to transition disks with large cavities.

Abstract

Transition disks with large dust cavities around young stars are promising targets for studying planet formation. Previous studies have revealed the presence of gas cavities inside the dust cavities hinting at recently formed, giant planets. However, many of these studies are biased towards the brightest disks in the nearby star forming regions, and it is not possible to derive reliable statistics that can be compared with exoplanet populations. We present the analysis of 11 transition disks with large cavities (>20 AU radius) from a complete disk survey of the Lupus star forming region, using ALMA Band 7 observations at 0.3" (22-30 AU radius) resolution of the 345 GHz continuum, 13CO and C18O 3-2 observations and the Spectral Energy Distribution of each source. Gas and dust surface density profiles are derived using the physical-chemical modeling code DALI. This is the first study of transition disks of large cavities within a complete disk survey within a star forming region. The dust cavity sizes range from 20-90 AU radius and in three cases, a gas cavity is resolved as well. The deep drops in gas density and large dust cavity sizes are consistent with clearing by giant planets. The fraction of transition disks with large cavities in Lupus is ~11%, which is inconsistent with exoplanet population studies of giant planets at wide orbits. Furthermore, we present a hypothesis of an evolutionary path for large massive disks evolving into transition disks with large cavities.