Pathfinder results for populations of planet-forming discs with SKA
Abstract
Imaging of few-millimetre-sized dust grains (pebbles, on the construction path to planets) in protoplanetary discs has begun. The Planet-Earth Building-Blocks Legacy e-MERLIN Survey is a unique pathfinder for SKAO, imaging a sample of disc-host stars around 4.4 cm wavelength at 55 - 120 mas resolution. PEBBLeS has surveyed 10 flux-ordered fields of the northern sky, and the L1448C-N and HL Tau systems are presented as examples. The prospects for extending this science with SKAO are bright, including shorter integration times and better sensitivity to fainter outer discs. Simulations are presented of how a southern analogue to the HL Tau disc could look to SKA-Mid AA* in bands 5a and 5b. The initial lack of long baselines is suggested to pose a significant risk for imaging of planet-related features in protoplanetary discs.
Related
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BibTeX
@misc{greaves2026pathfinder,
title = {{Pathfinder results for populations of planet-forming discs with SKA}},
author = {Jane S. Greaves and Anita M. S. Richards and Katie Hesterly and Emmanuel K. Bempong-Manful},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.22456},
eprint = {2610.22456},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22456},
note = {CC BY-NC-SA 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Pathfinder results for populations of planet-forming discs with SKA
AU - Jane S. Greaves
AU - Anita M. S. Richards
AU - Katie Hesterly
AU - Emmanuel K. Bempong-Manful
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.22456
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.22456
AB - Imaging of few-millimetre-sized dust grains (pebbles, on the construction path to planets) in protoplanetary discs has begun. The Planet-Earth Building-Blocks Legacy e-MERLIN Survey is a unique pathfinder for SKAO, imaging a sample of disc-host stars around 4.4 cm wavelength at 55 - 120 mas resolution. PEBBLeS has surveyed 10 flux-ordered fields of the northern sky, and the L1448C-N and HL Tau systems are presented as examples. The prospects for extending this science with SKAO are bright, including shorter integration times and better sensitivity to fainter outer discs. Simulations are presented of how a southern analogue to the HL Tau disc could look to SKA-Mid AA* in bands 5a and 5b. The initial lack of long baselines is suggested to pose a significant risk for imaging of planet-related features in protoplanetary discs.
ER -