Ionized gas emission in protoplanetary disks with the SKAO
Greta Guidi, Christian Rab, Barbara Ercolano, Michael L. Weber, Claudio Codella, Izaskun Jiménez-Serra, Evgenia Koumpia, John D. Ilee, Enrique Macías, Elena Viscardi, Yinhao Wu, Francesca Bacciotti, Asmita Bhandare, Eleonora Bianchi, Tyler Bourke, Luca Cacciapuoti, Antonio Garufi, Geoffroy Lesur, Vincent Piétu, Linda Podio, Giovanni Sabatini, Leonardo Testi, Claudia Toci
astro-ph.SR, astro-ph.EP, astro-ph.IM
Submitted: 2026-07-08
Comments: Published in Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II (AASKAII), 2026 (arXiv:2606.20366). Report-no:AASKAII/Guidi01. Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II (AASKAII) outlines the transformative scientific advances that will be enabled by the SKA telescopes
Code: https://github.com/glesur/PPDwind
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
The gist: Protoplanetary disks represent a crucial stage in the evolution of Young Stellar Objects towards the formation of fully formed planetary systems.
Terminology
Abstract
Protoplanetary disks represent a crucial stage in the evolution of Young Stellar Objects towards the formation of fully formed planetary systems. While substantial progress has been made in the last decades in the characterization of the dust and molecular gas in these systems, the ionized component remains poorly understood. Ionized gas traces important processes such as photoevaporation, accretion, disk winds, and jets, and therefore is key to studying disk dynamics, evolution, and ultimately planet formation. In this paper, we investigate the capabilities of the forthcoming SKA telescope to probe this component in protoplanetary disks within nearby star forming regions. We present state-of-the-art simulations of photoevaporative, magneto-thermal, and magnetohydrodynamic winds, and generate theoretical predictions and synthetic SKAO observations to assess its potential in detecting and characterizing free-free emission and Hydrogen recombination lines. Finally, we discuss synergies with complementary facilities and how they will provide a comprehensive, multi-scale view of disk winds and offer critical insights on the mechanisms driving disk evolution and the onset of planet formation.
Sources
- ALMA chemical survey of disk-outflow sources in Taurus (ALMA-DOT) VII: the layered molecular outflow from HL Tau and its relationship with the ringed disk
- Anticipated Performance of the Square Kilometre Array -- Phase 1 (SKA1)
- Hydro-, Magnetohydro-, and Dust-Gas Dynamics of Protoplanetary Disks
- Photoevaporation Can Reproduce Extended $\mathrm{H_2}$ Emission from Protoplanetary Disks Imaged by JWST MIRI
- The Role of Disk Winds in the Evolution and Dispersal of Protoplanetary Disks
- Disk Winds, Jets, and Outflows: Theoretical and Computational Foundations
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