Abstract

Abstract We present the first kinematical detection of embedded protoplanets within a protoplanetary disk. Using archival Atacama Large Millimetre Array (ALMA) observations of HD 163296, we demonstrate a new technique to measure the rotation curves of CO isotopologue emission to sub-percent precision relative to the Keplerian rotation. These rotation curves betray substantial deviations caused by local perturbations in the radial pressure gradient, likely driven by gaps carved in the gas surface density by Jupiter-mass planets. Comparison with hydrodynamic simulations shows excellent agreement with the gas rotation profile when the disk surface density is perturbed by two Jupiter-mass planets at 83 and 137 au. As the rotation of the gas is dependent upon the pressure of the total gas component, this method provides a unique probe of the gas surface density profile without incurring significant uncertainties due to gas-to-dust ratios or local chemical abundances that plague other methods. Future analyses combining both methods promise to provide the most accurate and robust measures of embedded planetary mass. Furthermore, this method provides a unique opportunity to explore wide-separation planets beyond the mm continuum edge and to trace the gas pressure profile essential in modeling grain evolution in disks.

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