Magellan Adaptive Optics Imaging of PDS 70: Measuring the Mass Accretion Rate of a Young Giant Planet within a Gapped Disk

TL;DR

This study uses high-contrast imaging to detect and measure the accretion rate of PDS 70b, a young giant planet within a gapped disk, providing insights into planet formation processes.

Contribution

First direct Hα imaging detection of accretion onto PDS 70b, enabling estimation of its mass accretion rate during formation.

Findings

PDS 70b is actively accreting material.

Mass accretion rate estimated at approximately 10^{-8} M_Jup/yr.

Detection confirms ongoing planet formation within the disk gap.

Abstract

PDS 70b is a recently discovered and directly imaged exoplanet within the wide ($\gtrsim$40 au) cavity around PDS 70 (Keppler et al. 2018, M\"uller et al. 2018). Ongoing accretion onto the central star suggests that accretion onto PDS 70b may also be ongoing. We present the first high contrast images at H$\alpha$ (656 nm) and nearby continuum (643 nm) of PDS 70 utilizing the MagAO system. The combination of these filters allows for the accretion rate of the young planet to be inferred, as hot infalling hydrogen gas will emit strongly at H$\alpha$ over the optical continuum. We detected a source in H$\alpha$ at the position of PDS 70b on two sequential nights in May 2018, for which we establish a false positive probability of $<$0.1%. We conclude that PDS 70b is a young, actively accreting planet. We utilize the H$\alpha$ line luminosity to derive a mass accretion rate of $\dot M= 10^{-8\pm1}$ M$_{Jup}/yr$, where the large uncertainty is primarily due to the unknown amount of optical extinction from the circumstellar and circumplanetary disks. PDS 70b represents the second case of an accreting planet interior to a disk gap, and is among the early examples of a planet observed during its formation.