Discs demographics and population synthesis

 

Demographic studies of disc are fundamental to understand the statistical properties of planet forming discs and to constraint the planet formation process and the initial architectures of planetary systems. Within this WP we plan to provide an observational characterisation of disc properties and to develop a population synthesis framework to compare observations with model predictions.

 

 

 

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In particular:

1. We will combine observations of millimetre continuum and molecular lines using ALMA data from our teams and data from the ALMA Archive to set up a comprehensive database of continuum and molecular line observations of discs.
2. We will derive the distribution of dust and gas masses of discs as a function of age in the range 1 to 10Myr and as a function of stellar mass from brown dwarfs to intermediate mass stars.
3. We will develop a population synthesis framework to predict the properties of evolving disc populations and we will use these to compare the model assumptions against the sample properties.
4. We will be able to derive the following key parameters: the timeline for the dissipation of the outer disc; the evolution of the gas to dust ratio in discs as a function of age and stellar mass; the evolution of the dust properties as a function of age and mass of the central star.