# Characterization of Ring Substructures in the Protoplanetary Disk of HD 169142 from Multi-Wavelength ALMA Observations

## TL;DR

This study uses multi-wavelength ALMA observations to analyze the ring structures in the protoplanetary disk of HD 169142, revealing dust traps likely caused by planet-disk interactions, which are crucial for understanding planet formation.

## Contribution

It provides the first unambiguous evidence of radial dust traps in HD 169142's rings through detailed multi-wavelength analysis and modeling.

## Key findings

- Multiple rings are caused by accumulations of large particles at gas pressure bumps.
- Maximum dust grain size in rings is about 1 cm, with flatter size distributions than the ISM.
- Inner ring may host conditions for streaming instability, relevant for planet formation.

## Abstract

We present a detailed multi-wavelength characterization of the multi-ring disk of HD 169142. We report new ALMA observations at 3 mm and analyze them together with archival 0.89 and 1.3 mm data. Our observations resolve three out of the four rings in the disk previously seen in high-resolution ALMA data. A simple parametric model is used to estimate the radial profile of the dust optical depth, temperature, density, and particle size distribution. We find that the multiple ring features of the disk are produced by annular accumulations of large particles, probably associated with gas pressure bumps. Our model indicates that the maximum dust grain size in the rings is $\sim1$ cm, with slightly flatter power-law size distributions than the ISM-like size distribution ($p\sim3.5$) found in the gaps. In particular, the inner ring ($\sim26$ au) is associated with a strong and narrow buildup of dust particles that could harbor the necessary conditions to trigger the streaming instability. According to our analysis, the snowlines of the most important volatiles do not coincide with the observed substructures. We explore different ring formation mechanisms and find that planet-disk interactions are the most likely scenario to explain the main features of HD 169142. Overall, our multi-wavelength analysis provides some of the first unambiguous evidence of the presence of radial dust traps in the rings of HD 169142. A similar analysis in a larger sample of disks could provide key insights on the impact that disk substructures have on the dust evolution and planet formation processes.