Visualizing Rossby vortices in cavity-hosting circumstellar disks : predicting observability from hydro simulations

Séminaire IPAG de Clément Robert (IPAG), jeudi 4 mars 2021, 11h00, IPAG seminar room

Lopsided structures are resolved in the thermal emission of a handful of circumstellar disks, tracing azimuthal concentration of solids, forming "clumps". One mechanism to create such dusty clumps is provided by anti-cyclonic vortices, whose formation is also expected on sharp "edges" of cavities and planet-carved gaps (via the Rossby Wave Instability). However, correctly classifying known targets as actual vortices (as opposed to other possible dust-accumulating scenarios) requires more insight, e.g. observations of the gas component.

I predict the Doppler dynamics of these structures from hydro simulations, as well as their polarimetric counterparts thanks to radiative transfer post-processing (with mcfost). I’ll show that exisiting facilities (ALMA) already meet the technical requirements to allow their detection, though moderately long observation runs are needed in the relevant regime.