Uncovering planet forming disks with the Square Kilometre Array - John Ilee

Abstract: Understanding how solid material in planet-forming disks evolves from micron-sized dust to planetary cores is a central challenge in modern astrophysics. This field has advanced dramatically in the past decade, largely driven by ALMA and high-contrast imaging facilities. However, major uncertainties remain regarding the presence, evolution, and role of centimeter-sized grains (or pebbles) in planet formation. The Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO) will fill this gap by enabling the first large-scale, high-resolution survey of disk emission at centimeter wavelengths. 

In this talk I will discuss the opportunities (and challenges) that will be associated with SKAO observations designed to detect and characterise pebbles in the planet-forming disks of nearby star-forming regions.  By resolving their spatial distribution, spectral properties, and evolutionary trends, SKA will offer essential constraints on dust growth and disk dynamics. However, care must be taken to disentangle dust emission from that of ionised gas which can also emit strongly at these frequencies. I will discuss our latest results from a JWST, ALMA and VLA survey of the Ophiuchus star forming region which has allowed us to i) perform some of the first spatially-resolved decomposition of emission from the youngest discs at cm wavelengths, and ii) search for optimal targets for the first SKAO observations.