# Protoplanetary disks in $K_s$-band total intensity and polarized light

**Authors:** Bin B. Ren, Myriam Benisty, Christian Ginski, Ryo Tazaki, Nicole L. Wallack, Julien Milli, Antonio Garufi, Jaehan Bae, Stefano Facchini, François Ménard, Paola Pinilla, C. Swastik, Richard Teague, Zahed Wahhaj  
**arXiv:** [2310.08589](https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.08589)  
**Date:** 2023-10-12  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/arxiv-id/2310.08589v1/

## Key points

- Researchers investigated morphology of protoplanetary disks and potential presence of planets through planet-disk interaction
- Used innovative data analysis techniques to extract high-quality disk images in total intensity and polarized light
- Peak of polarization fraction correlated with peak scattering angle, suggesting presence of compact dust particles in disks
- Detectability of disks in total intensity primarily dependent on host star brightness
- Polarized color at ~90 deg scattering angle showed most disks appeared blue but became redder with increasing stellar luminosity
- Importance of observing protoplanetary disks in both total intensity and polarized light for accurate characterization and distinguishing between disk features and potential planetary signals

## Summary

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In a recent study, researchers investigated the morphology of protoplanetary disks and the potential presence of planets through planet-disk interaction. The team used innovative data analysis techniques to extract high-quality disk images in both total intensity and polarized light for a subset of systems. By parameterizing polarization fraction phase functions using scaled beta distribution, they found that the peak of polarization fraction correlated with the peak scattering angle, potentially indicating the presence of certain compact dust particles in the disks. Furthermore, logistic regression analysis revealed that the detectability of disks in total intensity was primarily dependent on host star brightness. For disks with additional data in $Y$-/$J$-/$H$-band, their polarized color at ~90 deg scattering angle was summarized, showing that most disks appeared blue but became relatively redder as stellar luminosity increased. This highlights the importance of observing protoplanetary disks in both total intensity and polarized light to accurately characterize their properties and distinguish between disk features and potential planetary signals. Further modeling studies are needed to fully understand these findings and shed more light on planet formation processes within these intriguing systems.