Abstract

The large variety of observed planetary systems is rooted in the complex physical and chemical processes that lead to their formation. Spatially and spectrally resolved observations of molecular lines of planet nurseries – protoplanetary disks – can be leveraged to characterise simultaneously the dynamical state of the planet formation environments, and their chemical inventory. In this talk, I will show a new exquisite characterisation of disk kinematics by the exoALMA Large Program, a large effort that has involved more than 50 scientists for the last three years. These observations provide a novel methodology to determine the physical structure of disks, constrain their masses, reveal physical mechanisms yielding annular dust concentrations, and potentially unveil embedded planets. In jointure with direct imaging searches of such planets, and a chemical inventory of disk gas abundances, these observations yield the most accurate characterisation of protoplanetary disks to date. I will end the talk by discussing the future of this exciting research field, and potential new efforts to extend these studies to a much larger and more representative sample of disks.