Confirmation of a ring structure in the disk around MP Mus (PDS 66) with ALMA Band 7 observations (2504.17978v1)

Abstract: Young stellar objects (YSOs) are surrounded by protoplanetary disks, which are the birthplace of young planets. Ring and gap structures are observed among evolved protoplanetary disks, often interpreted as a consequence of planet formation. The pre-Main Sequence (pre-MS) star MP Mus hosts one of the few known examples of protoplanetary disks within ~100 pc. Previously, a disk ring structure, with a radius of 80-85 au, was detected in scattered light via near-infrared coronographic/polarimetric imaging. This ring structure may be indicative of the disk clearing process. Although such ring structures were not seen in the ALMA Band 6 images, some features were detected at $\sim$50 au. In this paper, we analyzed new ALMA Band 7 observations of MP Mus in order to investigate the details of its disk substructures. By subtracting the continuum profile generated from Band 7 data, we discovered a ring structure in the Band 7 dust continuum image at $\sim$50 au. We calculated the overall dust mass as $28.4\pm2.8 M_{\oplus}$ at 0.89 mm and $26.3\pm2.6 M_{\oplus}$ at 1.3 mm and the millimeter spectral index $\alpha_{0.89-1.3mm} \sim 2.2 \pm 0.3$ between 0.89 mm and 1.3 mm. Moreover, we display the spatial distribution of the spectral index ($\alpha_{mm}$), estimating values ranging from 1.3 at the inner disk to 4.0 at a large radius. Additionally, we observed an extended gas disk up to $\sim$120 au, in contrast with a compact continuum millimeter extent of $\sim$60 au. We conclude that there are strong indicators for an active radial drift process within the disk. However, we cannot discard the possibility of a dust evolution process and a grain growth process as responsible for the outer disk structures observed in the ALMA continuum imaging.