Science with a ngVLA: Imaging planetary systems in the act of forming with the ngVLA

TL;DR

The paper discusses how the ngVLA telescope's high resolution and sensitivity can revolutionize our understanding of planet formation by imaging young planetary systems and their evolution.

Contribution

It presents theoretical models demonstrating ngVLA's capabilities to image and study the formation and evolution of planetary systems in unprecedented detail.

Findings

ngVLA can image planet-forming regions within 10-20 au of stars

it can track the temporal evolution of young planetary systems

it will reveal interactions between forming planets and disks

Abstract

The discovery of thousands of exoplanets has shown that the birth of planets is a very efficient process in nature. Several physical mechanisms have been proposed to describe the assembly of planets in disks surrounding young stars. However, observational constraints have been sparse on account of insufficient sensitivity and resolution, especially for imaging the inner $10 - 20$ au from the star, where most of planets are observed. Thanks to its unprecedented angular resolution and sensitivity at wavelengths where the emission from the circumstellar material is optically thin, the ngVLA has the potential to transform our understanding of planet formation. In this chapter, we present state-of-the-art theoretical models of planetary systems in the act of forming that demonstrate ngVLA capabilities of imaging and follow the temporal evolution of young solar system analogues up to the distance of the Orion Nebula. These images will unveil how planets form and interact with their parental disks, and will shed light on the diverse properties of exoplanetary systems.