Herbig Ae/Be stars are surrounded by active accretion disks, as evidenced from excess emission seen in various wavelength regions. From studies of the Zeeman effect in polarimetric spectra of these PMS stars, it is clear that HAeBes host dipolar magnetic fields, which are about a magnitude weaker than those in their lower mass counterparts, the T Tauri stars.
While these weaker magnetic...
Accreting binary systems exhibit complex, multi-wavelength variability shaped by their interactions with circumstellar and circumbinary material. DQ Tau, highly eccentric (e = 0.6), equal-mass binary with a 15.7-day period, is a prime target to investigate accretion physics and disk structure in young binaries. With its short orbital period, DQ Tau owns three accretion disks and strongly...
While recent observations of young protostellar disks have revealed much about their structure, their formation process from molecular cloud cores and subsequent evolution remains relatively poorly understood. In particular, the role of the magnetic field in regulating the angular momentum budget of the system is a central issue. In this talk, zoom-in simulations from a turbulent interstellar...
Characterizing the physical conditions of disks surrounding young protostars that are still actively accreting from their surroundings is crucial to understanding the mass assembly process of stars and the mechanisms for early planet formation. While the majority of theoretical investigations into the first steps to form planetesimals are still using physical properties akin to more evolved...
I will show how to use Gaia astrometry to indentify binaries and companions in forming stars. I will exemplify the power of this technique with a few science cases, from newly identified protoplanets within the gaps and cavities of protoplanetary disks to a reassesment of the multiplicity of the populations of circumbinary and transition disks. I will conclude looking forward to the upcoming...
The dust mass budget of protoplanetary disks plays an important role in planet formation. However, ALMA surveys often underestimate disk masses as many disks have extended low surface-brightness regions at hundreds of au that fall below ALMA's sensitivity limits. This may contribute to the mass-budget problem where exoplanetary systems appear to be more massive than disks. In this talk, I will...
Numerous protoplanetary disks exhibit shadows in scattered light observations. These shadows are typically cast by misaligned inner disks and are associated with observable structures in the outer disk such as bright arcs and spirals. Investigating the dynamics of the shadowed outer disk is therefore essential in understanding the formation and evolution of these structures. We carry out...
We have long been interested in the chemical link between protoplanetary disks and planetary atmospheres. But this has largely been limited to the most abundant isotopes of elements like oxygen and carbon. More recent observational efforts have begun to identify the precence of less abundant isotopologues like $^{13}$CO in the atmospheres of giant planets and sub-stellar objects. Here I will...
