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Spiral Structure in the Gas Disk of TW Hya

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arxiv 1910.01532 v2 pith:EYBMQSPZ submitted 2019-10-03 astro-ph.EP

classification astro-ph.EP
keywords diskspiraltemperaturedeltaperturbationsspiralsvelocitycirc
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abstract

We report the detection of spiral substructure in both the gas velocity and temperature structure of the disk around TW~Hya, suggestive of planet-disk interactions with an unseen planet. Perturbations from Keplerian rotation tracing out a spiral pattern are observed in the SE of the disk, while significant azimuthal perturbations in the gas temperature are seen in the outer disk, outside 90~au, extending the full azimuth of the disk. The deviation in velocity is either $\Delta v_{\phi} \, / \, v_{\rm kep} \sim 0.1$ or $\Delta v_{z} \, / \, v_{\rm kep} \sim 0.01$ depending on whether the perturbation is in the rotational or vertical direction, while radial perturbations can be ruled out. Deviations in the gas temperature are $\pm 4$ K about the azimuthally averaged profile, equivalent to deviations of $\Delta T_{\rm gas} \, / \, T_{\rm gas} \sim 0.05$. Assuming all three structures can be described by an Archimedean spiral, measurements of the pitch angles of both velocity and temperature spirals show a radially decreasing trend for all three, ranging from 9$^{\circ}$ at 70 au, dropping to 3$^{\circ}$ at 200 au. Such low pitch-angled spirals are not readily explained through the wake of an embedded planet in the location of previously reported at 94 au, but rather require a launching mechanism which results in much more tightly wound spirals. Molecular emission tracing distinct heights in the disk is required to accurately distinguish between spiral launching mechanisms.

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Cited by 2 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Dust and Gas Transport in Substructured Nonideal MHD Wind-Launching Disks with Embedded Planets

    astro-ph.EP 2026-07 conditional novelty 6.0 of 10

    In magnetized wind-launching disks, planet-opened gaps remain partially permeable: small grains and gas leak through, while large grains are filtered, making substructures regulators rather than barriers.

  2. Unstable magnetospheric accretion on the T Tauri star TW Hya

    astro-ph.SR 2026-07 accept novelty 4.5 of 10

    TW Hya’s large-scale field is a ~0.83 kG tilted dipole that varies yearly; accretion is unstable (rmag/rcor ≈ 0.33–0.40) and no close-in planet is detected above ~0.3–1 Mjup.

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