Protoplanetary Disk Science Enabled by Extremely Large Telescopes

Jang-Condell, Hannah and Brittain, Sean and Weinberger, Alycia and Liu, Michael and Faherty, Jacqueline and Bae, Jaehan and Andrews, Sean and Ansdell, Megan and Birnstiel, Til and Boss, Alan and Close, Laird and Currie, Thayne and Desch, Steven J. and Dodson-Robinson, Sarah and Dong, Chuanfei and Duchene, Gaspard and Espaillat, Catherine and Follette, Kate and Gaidos, Eric and Gao, Peter and Haghighipour, Nader and Hartnett, Hilairy and Hasegawa, Yasuhiro and Kama, Mihkel and Kim, Jinyoung Serena and Kóspál, Ágnes and Lisse, Carey and Lyra, Wladimir and Macintosh, Bruce and Mawet, Dimitri (2019) Protoplanetary Disk Science Enabled by Extremely Large Telescopes. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY, 51 (3). ISSN 0002-7537

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Abstract

The processes that transform gas and dust in circumstellar disks into diverse exoplanets remain poorly understood. One key pathway is to study exoplanets as they form in their young (∼few~Myr) natal disks. Extremely Large Telescopes (ELTs) such as GMT, TMT, or ELT, can be used to establish the initial chemical conditions, locations, and timescales of planet formation, via (1)~measuring the physical and chemical conditions in protoplanetary disks using infrared spectroscopy and (2)~studying planet-disk interactions using imaging and spectro-astrometry. Our current knowledge is based on a limited sample of targets, representing the brightest, most extreme cases, and thus almost certainly represents an incomplete understanding. ELTs will play a transformational role in this arena, thanks to the high spatial and spectral resolution data they will deliver. We recommend a key science program to conduct a volume-limited survey of high-resolution spectroscopy and high-contrast imaging of the nearest protoplanetary disks that would result in an unbiased, holistic picture of planet formation as it occurs.

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