Abstract
Abstract We present the first observational evidence for a circumplanetary disk (CPD) around the protoplanet PDS 70 b, based on a new spectrum in the K-band acquired with Very Large Telescope/SINFONI. We tested three hypotheses to explain the spectrum: atmospheric emission from the planet with either (1) a single value of extinction, (2) a variable extinction, and (3) a combined atmospheric and CPD model. Goodness-of-fit indicators favor the third option, suggesting that circumplanetary material contributes excess thermal emission—most prominent at λ ≳ 2.3 μm. Inferred accretion rates (∼10−7.8–10−7.3 M J yr−1) are compatible with observational constraints based on the Hα and Brγ lines. For the planet, we derive an effective temperature of 1500–1600 K, surface gravity , radius ∼1.6R J , mass ∼10M J , and possible thick clouds. Models with variable extinction lead to slightly worse fits. However, the amplitude (ΔA V ≳ 3 mag) and timescale of variation (≲years) required for the extinction would also suggest circumplanetary material.
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