3D Radiation-Hydrodynamical Simulations of Shadows on Transition Disks

TL;DR

This paper uses 3D radiation hydrodynamical simulations to explore how shadows in transition disks create spirals, vortices, and gas motions, revealing observable features and dynamical effects relevant for ALMA observations.

Contribution

It presents the first detailed 3D simulations showing how shadows induce spirals and other structures, and links these features to observable signatures in transition disks.

Findings

Shadows cause asymmetric temperature drops that drive spirals with zero pattern speed.

Spirals efficiently transport mass with an alpha viscosity parameter around 0.01.

Vertical gas motions reach 10% of sound speed, observable with ALMA.

Abstract

Shadows are often observed in transition disks, which can result from obscuring by materials closer to the star, such as a misaligned inner disk. While shadows leave apparent darkened emission as observational signatures, they have significant dynamical impact on the disk. We carry out 3D radiation hydrodynamical simulations to study shadows in transition disks and find that the temperature drop due to the shadow acts as an asymmetric driving force, leading to spirals in the cavity. These spirals have zero pattern speed following the fixed shadow. The pitch angle is given by tan$^{-1}$($c_s$/$v_\phi$) (6$^{\circ}$ if $h/r$=0.1). These spirals transport mass through the cavity efficiently, with $\alpha \sim 10^{-2}$ in our simulation. Besides spirals, the cavity edge can also form vortices and flocculent streamers. When present, these features could disturb the shadow-induced spirals. By carrying out Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer simulations, we show that these features resemble those observed in near-infrared scattered light images. In the vertical direction, the vertical gravity is no longer balanced by the pressure gradient alone. Instead, an azimuthal convective acceleration term balances the gravity-pressure difference, leading to azimuthally periodic upward and downward gas motion reaching 10% of the sound speed, which can be probed by ALMA line observations.