[ESAC Student Seminar] Jensen Lawrence

“Protoplanetary Disks and CO Snowlines”

Abstract: The field of planet formation has undergone a revolution in the past decade. The outstanding observing capabilities of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), combined with substantial advances in theory and computation, have significantly refined our understanding of the planet formation process. During this epoch, it has been shown that snowlines — regions in a protoplanetary disk where a given chemical species transitions from gas to solid — are of critical importance to planet formation. Theory predicts that snowlines create rings with locally enhanced dust density, a crucial requirement for the efficient formation of planetesimals. Furthermore, snowlines affect the composition of planetary atmospheres, providing a promising link between a planet’s chemical makeup and its formation environment. However, despite their importance, we only have a single direct detection of the water snowline and no direct detections of the snowlines of other chemical species.

In this talk, I will start by providing an introduction to the field of planet formation. The formation, evolution, and composition of protoplanetary disks will be examined, and the observational techniques used to study planet formation will be summarized. Subsequently, I will present current results from my analysis of carbon monoxide (CO) data from the MAPS and exoALMA surveys, including the first tentative, direct detection of the CO snowline. Finally, I will discuss the future extensions of these results.

ESAC Student Seminar Series

A forum for students and postdocs to share recent research, hone presentation skills, and build community among peers, sponsored by the EAPS Student Advisory Committee. Open to current EAPS graduate and undergraduate students and postdocs. Typically hosted on Thursdays during the semester, including pizza lunch.

Contact: esac.officers@gmail.com