Catastrophic events in protoplanetary disks and their observational manifestations

TL;DR

This paper explores how destructive collisions among large bodies in protoplanetary disks can create observable ring structures, linking disk disturbances to collision-driven dust cloud evolution.

Contribution

It proposes a novel explanation for disk ring formations based on destructive collisions and dust cloud evolution, supported by high-resolution ALMA observations.

Findings

Ring structures result from collisions of large bodies.

Dust cloud evolution explains observed disk features.

Collisional processes influence disk morphology.

Abstract

Observations of protoplanetary disks with high angular resolution using an ALMA interferometer showed that ring-shaped structures are often visible in their images, indicating strong disturbances in the disks. The mechanisms of their formation are vividly discussed in the literature. This article shows that the formation of such structures can be the result of destructive collisions of large bodies (planetesimals and planetary embryos) accompanied by the formation of a large number of dust particles, and the subsequent evolution of a cloud of dust formed in this way.