INSIDE: The INner regions of protoplanetary disks:SImulations anD obsErvations

• Applicant: Dr. Mario Flock
• Subject Area: Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 465962023

Understanding how planets form is one of the most fascinating science goals in modern astro-physics. After the discovery of the first exoplanet in 1995 which was honored by the Nobel Prize in 2019, more than four thousands of exoplanetary systems were discovered. How these planets form however remains an open question. The inner regions of protoplanetary disks, inside one astronomical unit (au), are the most promising birth place for planets. With the fastest dynamical timescales and the highest densities, we expect planets to form first in the inner disk. However, it is extremely challenging to observe these regions, as they require milli-arcsecond resolution that can not be achieved with existing single dish telescopes. The only way to directly observe the inner regions is by combining telescopes using (near- and mid-) infrared interferometry. Since a few years, the advent of imaging instruments at the heart of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI) allows to spatially resolve the innermost regions of protoplanetary disks and map the emission of hot dust grains and gas involved in crucial processes of disk evolution and planet formation. Advanced theoretical models of the inner disk regions are crucial to explain these upcoming observations. With INSIDE we want to advance the cutting edge theoretical models and for the first time compare and test them against the newest observational constrains from the inner regions of protoplanetary disks.We aim to (1) develop new self-consistent gas and multi-dust species radiation hydrostatic models of protoplanetary disks and, (2) for the first time confront them to observational constraints brought by near and mid-infrared instruments at VLTI. Our proposed models will include a proper treatment for the irradiation and accretion heating, as well as for the dust sublimation for silicate and carbon grains. The new method will enable us to investigate the thermal and density structure of the inner rim in a broad parameter range using different stellar properties and mass accretion rates. We will make use of the existing state-of-the-art observational data obtained from the PIONIER, GRAVITY and MATISSE instrument at the VLTI, to observationally constrain the morphology of the dust sublimation zone, the position and width of the rim, and so to test and tune the theoretical models. This will be a great opportunity to understand and make use of the new observations in the near-infrared to constrain the inner disk regions,starting from the dust sublimation edges until the water snow line, to search for rings, gaps and asymmetries at the rim structure and finally to identify signs of embedded planets.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Cooperation Partner: Privatdozentin Dr. Myriam Benisty