Abstract
Turbulence can transport angular momentum in protoplanetary disks and
influence the growth and evolution of planets. With spatially and spectrally
resolved molecular emission line measurements provided by (sub)millimeter
interferometric observations, it is possible to directly measure non-thermal
motions in the disk gas that can be attributed to this turbulence. We report a
new constraint on the turbulence in the disk around HD 163296, a nearby young A
star, determined from ALMA Science Verification observations of four CO
emission lines (the CO(3-2), CO(2-1), 13CO(2-1), and C18O(2-1) transitions).
The different optical depths for these lines permit probes of non-thermal
line-widths at a range of physical conditions (temperature and density) and
depths into the disk interior. We derive stringent limits on the non-thermal
motions in the upper layers of the outer disk such that any contribution to the
line-widths from turbulence is <3\% of the local sound speed. These limits are
approximately an order of magnitude lower than theoretical predictions for
full-blown MHD turbulence driven by the magneto-rotational instability,
potentially suggesting that this mechanism is less efficient in the outer
(R>30AU) disk than has been previously considered.
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