Unveiling the infancy of planetary systems

Introduction

Observational campaigns are revealing that planet formation is an extremely efficient mechanism, and that at the same time it leads to a wide diversity in exoplanet properties. While high-resolution images of protoplanetary disks show potential signatures of planet-disk interactions, an observational characterization of directly imaged protoplanets interacting with their natal environment is still lacking, limiting our understanding of the planet formation mechanisms.

Current Opportunities

Thanks to the revolutionary capabilities of the ALMA interferometer, and the advent of upcoming infrared facilities such as JWST, the time is ripe to finally detect planets in the act of formation. We aim to observe how their bulk and atmospheric properties are determined by the physics and chemistry of their birth surroundings.

Project Goals

UNVEIL will bridge the gap between exoplanets and planet-forming disks by directly observing and modelling the assembly of massive planets in disks at large orbital radii. Combining cutting-edge observational programs and ambitious modelling efforts, I will:

1. Assess the onset of hydrodynamical instabilities facilitating the formation of planetary cores.
2. Search for protoplanets in the gas kinematics of disks and estimate their mass.
3. Image protoplanets in the mid-infrared and determine how they formed.
4. Directly connect the chemistry of disks to the elemental abundances of protoplanet atmospheres.

Methodology

This ambitious project builds upon a novel methodology that will be developed by my team to detect protoplanets in the kinematical structure of protoplanetary disks. It also relies on my leadership position in a pioneering ALMA Large Program to characterize the gas kinematics of planet-forming disks.

Community Impact

In synergy with my ground-breaking JWST observations, UNVEIL will build a unique legacy for the whole community. It will provide observational constraints that are sorely needed to unveil the formation phases of cores and atmospheres of Saturn-Jupiter mass exoplanets.