Determine whether the 23-au dust ring is compatible with the proposed planet

Determine how the proposed planet candidate in the gap of J16120 could reside near the same 23-au orbit as a millimetre dust-continuum ring, and establish whether that ring could instead represent dust trapped in the planet’s horseshoe orbit.

Background

The proposed planet candidate is associated with H-alpha and near-infrared emission near an orbital radius of approximately 23–32 au, while the new continuum modelling identifies a faint dust ring at 23 au. The authors find no significant asymmetry or local intensity depression at the candidate’s position, creating an unresolved tension between the planet interpretation and the observed ring morphology. They note that horseshoe-orbit dust trapping remains possible but is not established.

References

Therefore, it is not clear how such a planet could reside on the same orbit as a dust continuum ring mainly tracing millimetre dust grains.

— Dust Substructures and Line Perturbations driven by a Forming Planet in J16120  (2609.05366 - Sierra et al., 4 Sep 2026) in Section 3.1.1, 'No ALMA Band 7 CPD Detection'

While limited sensitivity is likely the dominant factor behind the non-detection, the possibility that a CPD is not present cannot be ruled out.

— Dust Substructures and Line Perturbations driven by a Forming Planet in J16120  (2609.05366 - Sierra et al., 4 Sep 2026) in Section 3.1.1, 'No ALMA Band 7 CPD Detection'