Science with an ngVLA: Exploring Protostellar Disk Formation with the ngVLA

The formation and evolution of disks early in the protostellar phase is an area of study in which the ngVLA is poised to make significant breakthroughs. The high-sensitivity and resolution at wavelengths of 3~mm and longer will enable forming disks to be examined with unprecedented detail. The need to observe dust emission at wavelengths of 3~mm and longer is motivated by the fact that dust emission at these wavelengths is more likely to be optically thin, which is essential to understanding the structure of these disks. We explore the feasibility of detecting and resolving protostellar disks with a variety of radii, masses, and distances, out to distances as large as 1.5~kpc using radiative transfer models and simulations with the proposed ngVLA configuration. We also examine the potential for the ngVLA to enable studies of grain growth and radial migration of dust particles early in the protostellar phase with the broad multi-wavelength coverage. Studies of grain growth will require wavelength coverage extending at least to $\sim$4~cm to characterize and quantify the location and intensity of free-free emission, which is expected to be generated at $<$10 AU scales.
Comment: To be published in the ASP Monograph Series, "Science with a Next-Generation VLA", ed. E. J. Murphy (ASP, San Francisco, CA); 11 pages, 4 figures