Observations have shown indirect evidence of a population of massive planets embedded in protoplanetary disks, whose interactions with the disk would substantially impact its structure.

In Barraza-Alfaro et al. 2024, we studied how a massive forming planet would affect the 3D gas velocity structure of a vertical shear instability-turbulent planet-forming disk,  focused on the observability of kinematic signatures.

We found that massive planets can damp the kinematic signatures of the vertical shear instability.

Barraza-Alfaro M., Flock M., Henning T., 2024, A&A, 683, A16

The vertical shear instability (VSI) is a hydrodynamical instability candidate to generate turbulence in protoplanetary disks.

In Barraza-Alfaro et al. 2021, we studied the feasibility of observing large-scale motions produced by the VSI in high-resolution ALMA observations of CO isotopologues. 

We found that ALMA has the capability to detect the corrugated velocity structure induced by the VSI. Observations of VSI kinematic signatures can reveal it as a source of turbulence in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks. 

Barraza-Alfaro M., Flock M., Marino S., Pérez S., 2021, A&A, 653, A113

The vertical shear instability is a candidate mechanism to operate in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks driving turbulence.

A study of the convergence of the VSI is presented in Dang et al. 2024, finding a reduction of the radial wavelengths of the VSI corrugation modes with increasing the grid resolution of the numerical simulations.

I contributed with mock ALMA observations of the simulated VSI gas dynamics, concluding that the VSI may be only resolvable in the outermost regions of flared protoplanetary disks.

Dang Y., Cui C., Barraza-Alfaro M., 2024, MNRAS, 529, 918

Large-scale spiral arms have been observed in multi-wavelength observations of protoplanetary disks, yet their nature is still a puzzle. In Brown-Sevilla et al. 2021, I contributed with 2D hydrodynamical simulations exploring a scenario in which the spirals observed in the WaOph 6 disk are triggered by a massive planet. 

In order to create the observed spiral structure, a putative 10 Jupiter-mass planet located on the outskirts of the disk is needed. However, this scenario is in tension with current companion mass upper limits and mm-dust trapping theory.

Brown-Sevilla S.B., Keppler M., Barraza-Alfaro M., et al., 2021, A&A, 654, A35