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At least 685 records · Page 38

Baryogenesis from decaying magnetic helicity in axiogenesis

Generating axion dark matter through the kinetic misalignment mechanism implies the generation of large asymmetries for Standard Model fermions in the early universe. Even if these asymmetries are washed out at later times, they can trigger a chiral plasma instability in the early universe. Similarly, a direct coupling of the axion with the hypercharge gauge field can trigger a tachyonic instability. These instabilities produce helical magnetic fields, which are preserved until the electroweak phase transition. At the electroweak phase transition, these become a source of baryon asymmetry, which can be much more efficient than the original axiogenesis proposal. We discuss constraints on axion dark matter production from the overproduction of the baryon asymmetry as well as a minimal, albeit fine-tuned setup, where both the correct dark matter abundance and baryon asymmetry can be achieved. For a given axion decay constant, this leads to a sharp prediction for the mass of the radial direction of the Peccei Quinn field, which is a soft mass scale in supersymmetric theories.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Correlations between asymmetric compression, burn amplification, and hot-spot velocities in inertial confinement fusion implosions

Here, this manuscript examines the correlations between the hot-spot velocity (an observable signature of residual kinetic energy), low-mode implosion asymmetries, and burn amplification in inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Using a combination of two-dimensional axis-symmetric and three-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamic simulations coupled to neutronics, we find that for typical NIF implosions, the stagnation asymmetry multiplies the observed hot-spot velocity anywhere from 80% to 120%, while burn amplification always increases it. Additionally, we find stagnation asymmetry typically deflects the observed hot-spot flow. The two mechanisms (low-mode implosion asymmetries and burn amplification) can be decoupled, and application of a simple model to a database of cryogenic implosions on the NIF infers the total hot-spot velocity amplification. This finding modifies the interpretation of data collected from inertial confinement fusion experiments and impacts the magnitude and origin of low-mode asymmetries.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Demonstration of low-mode shape control in indirect-drive double shell implosions at the NIF

Double shell inertial confinement fusion is a concept for achieving robust thermonuclear burn that uses dense metal shells to compress deuterium-tritium (DT) fuel to fusion conditions. Double shell implosions are typically indirectly driven and involve a target that consists of a low-Z ablator, a foam layer, and a high-Z pusher surrounding the DT fuel. The goal of the campaign is to achieve a volumetric burn as radiation losses from the DT fuel are trapped by the opaque high-Z shell. The overall performance of double shell implosions relies on the efficient collisional transfer of kinetic energy between layers. The efficiency of this transfer (and therefore the overall performance of a given implosion) is degraded by the presence of low-mode asymmetries. P2 asymmetries are often observed in spatially resolved 2D radiographs of nominal double shell implosions. This work discusses three such experiments: one with an oblate P2 asymmetry, one with a prolate P2 asymmetry, and one with an approximate spherical symmetry. After performing a shape analysis of the oblate and prolate implosions to quantify asymmetries, these experimental results were compared with the results of hydrodynamic simulations for the two experiments. Differences between the experiment and simulation were then used to design an approximately spherical implosion by altering the incident laser cone fraction. Radiographs from the experiment that implemented the modified cone fraction show evidence of an implosion that is approximately spherical until bang time. This design is intended to serve as a point design for future studies that will seek to optimize various aspects of the double shell target.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

3D reconstruction of an inertial-confinement fusion implosion with neural networks using multiple heterogeneous data sources

3D asymmetries are major degradation mechanisms in inertial-confinement fusion implosions at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). These asymmetries can be diagnosed and reconstructed with the neutron imaging system (NIS) on three lines of sight around the NIF target chamber. Conventional tomographic reconstructions are used to reconstruct the 3D morphology of the implosion using NIS [Volegov et al., J. Appl. Phys. 127, 083301 (2020)], but the problem is ill-posed with only three imaging lines of sight. Asymmetries can also be diagnosed with the real-time neutron activation diagnostics (RTNAD) and the neutron time-of-flight (nToF) suite. Since the NIS, RTNAD, and nToF each sample a different part of the implosion using different physical principles, we propose that it is possible to overcome the limitations of too few imaging lines of sight by performing 3D reconstructions that combine information from all three heterogeneous data sources. This work presents a new machine learning-based reconstruction technique to do just this. By using a simple physics model and group of neural networks to map 3D morphologies to data, this technique can easily account for data of multiple different types. A simple proof-of-principle is presented, demonstrating that this technique can accurately reconstruct a hot-spot shape using synthetic primary neutron images and a hot-spot velocity vector. In particular, the hot-spot’s asymmetry, quantified as spherical harmonic coefficients, is reconstructed to within ±4% of the radius in 90% of test cases. In the future, this technique will be applied to actual NIS, RTNAD, and nToF data to better understand 3D asymmetries at the NIF.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Diode effect for skyrmions interacting with linear protrusion defects

We simulate collectively interacting skyrmions in a channel with periodic asymmetry, and find a strong diode effect for the skyrmion flow. There is also an asymmetry in the skyrmion annihilation rate for currents applied along the hard or easy substrate asymmetry direction, with a higher annihilation rate for hard direction currents. We map out the diode efficiency as a function of magnetic field and substrate asymmetry angle. We also show that the Magnus force impacts the diode motion and annihilation rate asymmetry by forcing skyrmions into corners of the protrusion geometry.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Direct C P violation in charmless three-body decays of B ± mesons

Measurements of CP asymmetries in charmless three-body decays of B ± mesons are reported using proton-proton collision data collected by the LHCb detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.9 fb –1 . The previously observed CP asymmetry in B ± →π ± ⁢K + K – decays is confirmed, and CP asymmetries are observed with a significance of more than five standard deviations in the B ± →π ± π + ⁢π – and B ± →K ± ⁢K + ⁢K – decays, while the CP asymmetry of B ± →K ± ⁢π + ⁢π – decays is confirmed to be compatible with zero. The distributions of these asymmetries are also studied as a function of the three-body phase space and suggest contributions from rescattering and resonance interference processes. An indication of the presence of the decays B ± →π ± ⁢χ c⁢0 ⁡(1⁢P) in both B ± →π ± π + ⁢π – and B ± →π ± ⁢K + ⁢K – decays is observed, as is CP violation involving these amplitudes.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

On the Short-scale Spatial Variability of Electron Inflows in Electron-only Magnetic Reconnection in the Turbulent Magnetosheath Observed by MMS

We investigate the detailed properties of electron inflow in an electron-only reconnection event observed by the four Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft in the Earth's turbulent magnetosheath downstream of the quasi-parallel bow shock. The lack of ion coupling was attributed to the small-scale sizes of the current sheets, and the observed bidirectional super-Alfvénic electron jets indicate that the MMS spacecraft crossed the reconnecting current sheet on both sides of an active X-line. Remarkably, the MMS spacecraft observed the presence of large asymmetries in the two electron inflows, with the inflows (normal to the current sheet) on the two sides of the reconnecting current layer differing by as much as a factor of four. Furthermore, even though the four MMS spacecraft were separated by less than seven electron skin depths, the degree of inflow asymmetry was significantly different at the different spacecraft. The asymmetry in the inflow speeds was larger with increasing distances downstream from the reconnection site, and the asymmetry was opposite on the two sides of the X-line. We compare the MMS observations with a 2D kinetic particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation and find that the asymmetry in the inflow speeds stems from in-plane currents generated via the combination of reconnection-mediated inflows and parallel flows along the magnetic separatrices in the presence of a large guide field.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Beta decay and the origins of biological chirality - Experimental results

Preliminary experimental results are presented of an investigation of the possible role of preferential radiolysis by electrons emitted in the beta decay of radionuclides, a parity-nonconserving process, in the universal causation of the optical activity of biological compounds. Experiments were designed to measure the asymmetry in the production of triplet positronium upon the bombardment of an amino acid powder target by a collimated beam of positrons as positron helicity or target chirality is reversed. No asymmetry down to a level of 0.0007 is found in experiments on the D and L forms of cystine and tryptophan, indicating an asymmetry in positronium formation cross section of less than 0.01, while an asymmetry of 0.0031 is found for leucine, corresponding to a formation cross section asymmetry of about 0.04

Gidley, D. W.↗

Investigation of the asymmetric misfit dislocation morphology in epitaxial layers with the zinc-blende structure

The source of the asymmetry in the dislocation morphology exhibited in the epitaxial growth of compound semiconductors on (100) was investigated. A thickness wedge of p- and n-type GaAs(0.95)P(0.05) was grown on GaAs by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and the effect of misorientation on the resolved shear stress for each slip system was calculated and eliminated as the source of the asymmetry. Another potential source of asymmetry, the thickness gradient, was also eliminated. Results show that the substrate misorientation and the thickness gradient do not significantly contribute to the asymmetry and that the dominant contributor to the asymmetry of misfit dislocations in the (001) epitaxial interface can be attributed to the differences in the Peierls barriers between the two types of dilocations in GaAsP/GaAs.

Fox, Bradley A.↗

Effect of impact angle on central-peak/peak-ring formation and crater collapse on Venus

Although asymmetry in ejecta patterns and craters shape-in-plan are commonly cited as diagnostic features of impact angle, the early-time transfer of energy from impactor to target also creates distinctive asymmetries in crater profile with the greatest depth uprange. In order to simulate gravity-controlled crater-growth, laboratory experiments use loose particulate targets as analogs for low-strength material properties following passage of the shock. As a result, impact crater diameter D in laboratory experiments generally is many times greater than the impactor diameter 2r (factor of 40), and early-time asymmetries in energy transfer from oblique impacts are consumed by subsequent symmetrical crater growth, except at the lowest angles (less than 25 deg). Such asymmetry is evident for oblique (less than 60 deg from horizontal) impacts into aluminum where D/2r is only 2 to 4. Because cratering efficiency decreases with increasing crater size and decreasing impact angle, large scale planetary craters (4080 km) should have transient excavation diameters only 6-10 times larger than the impactor. At basin scales, D/2r is predicted to be only 3-5, i.e., approaching values for impacts into aluminum in laboratory experiments. As a result, evidence for early-time asymmetry in impactor energy transfer should become evident on planetary surfaces, yet craters generally retain a circular outline for all but the lowest impact angles.

Schultz, Peter H.↗

Submillimeter Imaging of Dust Around Main Sequence Stars

This grant was to image circumstellar dust disks surrounding main-sequence stars. The delivery of the SCUBA detector we had planned to use for this work was delayed repeatedly, leading us to undertake a majority of the observations with the UKT14 submillimeter detector at the JCMT (James Clerk Maxwell Telescope) and optical imagers and a coronagraph at the University of Hawaii 2.2-m telescope. Major findings under this grant include: (1) We discovered 5 asymmetries in the beta Pictoris regenerated dust disk. The discovery of these asymmetries was a surprise, since smearing due to Keplerian shear should eliminate most such features on timescales of a few thousand years. One exception is the "wing tilt" asymmetry, which we interpret as due to the scattering phase function of dust disk particles. From the wing tilt and a model of the phase function, we find a disk plane inclination to the line of sight of < 5 degrees. Other asymmetries (e.g. the butterfly asymmetry) suggest a disk that has been recently disturbed. We searched for possible nearby perturbers but found no clear candidates. Low mass stars (M dwarfs) and brown dwarfs would have fallen beneath the sensitivity threshhold of our survey, however. (2) We calculated a set of disk models to assess the detectability of dust disks around stars as a function of (a) distance, (b) disk, inclination (c) dust optical depth/mass, and (d) imaging resolution. These models guided our observational strategy on Mauna Kea. (3) We performed a coronagraphic survey of approx. 100 main-sequence stars in search of additional examples of circumstellar disks. The best new candidate disk, around the 5 M(sun) star BD+31deg.643, is distinguished by its large extent (few x 10( exp 3) AU). This disk, if real, cannot be rotationally supported. We suggest that the dust particles are ejected from a smaller, unseen disk (Kuiper Belt?) by strong radiation pressure forces due to the high luminosity central star. (4) SCUBA images of circumstellar dust disks were obtained at 850 gm in 1997/8. These images show extended, asymmetric emission, but have a signal-to-noise ratio too low to permit disk mapping to large projected distances. Our images of beta Pic, in particular, are in agreement with those obtained by Holland et al., and appear to confirm the blob-structure reported first by these authors. We have not yet been able to confirm that the structure is intrinsic to the disk, since beta Pic is at -50 degree declination, and suitable observing opportunities from northern latitudes are comparatively rare (even at the +20 degree latitude of JCMT). It is possible, for instance, that the main 850 micro-m blob is merely a galaxy or other high-z source projected onto the beta Pic mid-plane.

Jewitt, David↗

View-angle-dependent AIRS Cloudiness and Radiance Variance: Analysis and Interpretation

Upper tropospheric clouds play an important role in the global energy budget and hydrological cycle. Significant view-angle asymmetry has been observed in upper-level tropical clouds derived from eight years of Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) 15 um radiances. Here, we find that the asymmetry also exists in the extra-tropics. It is larger during day than that during night, more prominent near elevated terrain, and closely associated with deep convection and wind shear. The cloud radiance variance, a proxy for cloud inhomogeneity, has consistent characteristics of the asymmetry to those in the AIRS cloudiness. The leading causes of the view-dependent cloudiness asymmetry are the local time difference and small-scale organized cloud structures. The local time difference (1-1.5 hr) of upper-level (UL) clouds between two AIRS outermost views can create parts of the observed asymmetry. On the other hand, small-scale tilted and banded structures of the UL clouds can induce about half of the observed view-angle dependent differences in the AIRS cloud radiances and their variances. This estimate is inferred from analogous study using Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) radiances observed during the period of time when there were simultaneous measurements at two different view-angles from NOAA-18 and -19 satellites. The existence of tilted cloud structures and asymmetric 15 um and 6.7 um cloud radiances implies that cloud statistics would be view-angle dependent, and should be taken into account in radiative transfer calculations, measurement uncertainty evaluations and cloud climatology investigations. In addition, the momentum forcing in the upper troposphere from tilted clouds is also likely asymmetric, which can affect atmospheric circulation anisotropically.

AIRS↗

Neuro-Vestibular Examination During and Following Spaceflight (Vestibular Health)

BACKGROUND Adaptation to microgravity during spaceflight causes neurological disturbances that are either directly or indirectly mediated by the vestibular system. These disturbances could include space motion sickness, spatial disorientation, and cognitive impairment, as well as changes in head-eye coordination, vestibulo-ocular reflexes, and control of posture and locomotion. Otolith-mediated reflex gains appear to adapt rapidly during spaceflight and after landing. However, animal studies have shown that structural modifications of the vestibular sensory apparatus develop during long-duration spaceflight. To date, no studies have characterized the severity of vestibular syndromes experienced by astronauts as a function of the duration of spaceflight or whether the effects are caused by changes at the peripheral end organs, midbrain, cerebellum, or vestibular cortex. OBJECTIVES We will investigate temporal vestibular changes in crewmembers of short, 6-month, and one-year missions to identify trends in adaptation of vestibular health and performance in orbit and after landing. We will also determine whether the vestibular organs and/or the central vestibular system undergo structural changes during long-duration exposure to microgravity, which could cause vestibular disorders when transitioning to a different gravitational environment. METHODS Recordings of eye, head, and body movements, as well as subjective reports of perception of motion, will be used to determine the presence of abnormal eye movements, dysmetria, motion sickness symptoms, and illusions of motion during head or body movements. This includes characterization of temporal trends in central compensation for vestibular (otolith) asymmetry. Pre-flight data will be collected 90 days before the flight. In-flight tests will be performed early in the mission and once every one or two months thereafter. Post-flight examinations will be performed on the following days after return (R) from the mission: R+0, R+4, R+9, and R+30. Ground-based control tests will be performed on healthy volunteers in the laboratory to estimate mean normative responses. CONTROL RESULTS Thirty-two healthy (non-astronaut) control subjects performed the same ground test procedures as planned for crewmembers. In addition to establishing a normative database, these data were used to calculate vestibular asymmetries from perceptual reports during unilateral centrifugation, oculomotor responses during visual-alignment tasks, vestibulo-ocular reflex gain during head-impulse tests, and body rotation during stepping tests. A significant correlation was observed between asymmetries of subjective visual vertical and verbal report during unilateral centrifugation. Another significant correlation was observed between the asymmetries of ocular alignment, vestibulo-ocular reflex gain, and body rotation. These findings in a healthy cohort may help us better understand changes in vestibular asymmetries in crewmembers during and following spaceflight. RELEVANCE If the observed symptoms in crewmembers are more deleterious after the year-long missions than those documented after 6-month missions, then relevant countermeasures will be required to maintain the health and operational performance of astronauts during longer missions. Depending on the etiology of the vestibular syndrome revealed by these tests, countermeasures will be proposed based on vestibular rehabilitation therapies currently used in patients with vestibular disorders, such as habituation, gaze stabilization, and/or balance training exercises. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This work is supported by the NASA’s Human Research Program Human Health Countermeasures Element.

T R Macaulay↗

Testing Cosmic Microwave Background Anomalies in E-mode Polarization with Current and Future Data

In this paper, we explore the power of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization (E-mode) data to corroborate four potential anomalies in CMB temperature data: the lack of large angular-scale correlations, the alignment of the quadrupole and octupole (Q–O), the point-parity asymmetry, and the hemispherical power asymmetry. We use CMB simulations with noise representative of three experiments—the Planck satellite, the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS), and the LiteBIRD satellite—to test how current and future data constrain the anomalies. We find the correlation coefficients ρ between temperature and E-mode estimators to be less than 0.1, except for the point-parity asymmetry (ρ = 0.17 for cosmic-variance-limited simulations), confirming that E-modes provide a check on the anomalies that is largely independent of temperature data. Compared to Planck component-separated CMB data (smica), the putative LiteBIRD survey would reduce errors on E-mode anomaly estimators by factors of ∼3 for hemispherical power asymmetry and point-parity asymmetry, and by ∼26 for lack of large-scale correlation. The improvement in Q–O alignment is not obvious due to large cosmic variance, but we found the ability to pin down the estimator value will be improved by a factor ≳100. Improvements with CLASS are intermediate to these.

Cosmic microwave background radiation↗

Timelike Compton Scattering from a longitudinally polarised target with CLAS12 at Jefferson Lab

Explorations into the internal dynamics of hadrons are constantly evolving, and the requirement for experimental results to verify theoretical models of hadron structure is paramount. A key area in this field is the study of Generalised Parton Distributions (GPDs), which are functions used to model the momenta of quarks and gluons within hadrons, and the methods to access GPDs experimentally. One such scattering process that allows access to these is Timelike Compton Scattering. TCS complements existing Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering experiments and allows investigation into the universality of GPDs through access to the real and imaginary parts of the parton helicity independent GPD Hq via beam spin asymmetries (BSA), and it provides novel access to the real and imaginary parts of the parton helicity dependent GPD ˜Hq through target polarisation asymmetries (TSA). This thesis work presents a comparative study with the first published BSA for TCS at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab), alongside a first time extraction of a Target Spin Asymmetry with the Summer 2022 data taking run. JLab hosts the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) which provides a 12 GeV electron beam to four experimental halls. Hall-B contains the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer, which took data across three run periods on a longitudinally polarised NH3 and ND3 fixed target from 2022-2023, to extract measurements of electron-proton scattering, from which a TCS signal could be extracted. The thesis discusses work done to understand and eliminate contributions from the non-/low-polarised nuclear background, testing pre-established cuts to eliminate pion background from a dilepton (e+e-) final state and modifying them as needed for the new experimental run, and attempts to hone in on a clean TCS signal from which to extract the two asymmetry observables. A comparison with existing BSA results was performed; however, the statistical errors are too large to draw a significant conclusion as to whether there is agreement across each bin. More data is needed for a multidimensionally binned extraction. A proof of principle was achieved in the TSA measurements, with two out of four kinematic bins showing preliminary agreement in shape with theoretical values. Again, the errors are significant due to the contributions from the nuclear background. To support these conclusions, a further study was done, which takes into account an estimate of the asymmetries with the full available dataset (this thesis is based only on data taken in the summer set; at the time of writing processing was still being conducted for the final two datasets), as well as an estimate including additional future experiment days that were awarded in July 2024. Additional work was done on a secondary project exploring the feasibility of measuring TCS at the upcoming Electron Ion Collider, supporting the design proposal for the detector for the first interaction region and giving a positive outlook for the future of these types of measurements beyond JLab.

Gates, Kayleigh [Univ. of Glasgow, Scotland (Unite↗

Signal Extraction and Simulations for n -> p^0 y y and n -> p+p-e+e- Decays at the Jefferson Lab Eta Factory

The Jefferson Lab eta Factory (JEF) began acquiring data in early 2025. The experiment aims to give insight into the connection between Dark Matter physics models and the Standard Model by investigating rare decay processes of n and n' mesons. Several other physics motivations are also a key factor in the experiment, such as probing C and/or P violation and aspects of chiral perturbation theory. For these purposes, the forward calorimeter of the GlueX experiment in Jefferson Lab was upgraded so that it provides greater positional and energy resolution. Understanding physics-motivated cuts and background removal methods is of great importance to achieving JEF goals. Several methods have been implemented to obtain invariant mass plots for the “golden” channel of interest ¿ ¿ p0¿¿, while channels such as ¿ ¿ p+p-e+e- open a promising window into CP-violating physics. This thesis work shows a sig nificant background reduction in rare decay channels of interest, asymmetry factors comparable to recent experimental measurements, an evaluation on which analysis cuts to use after data acquisition and the likelihood of probing specific rare ¿ decays. Despite background rejection from obstructing decay channels, much remains to do to extract the p0¿¿ final-state. The asymmetry between the pion and lepton planes looks promising for p+p-e+e-; simulations show that the asymmetry is consistent with zero (no instrumental asymmetry), and the next step should include generators that model the physics of the asymmetry. This thesis work may help in the effort of probing CP-violating physics or solving the mysteries between “beyond-Standard Model” and our current understanding of physics.

Oresic, Stjepan [Univ. of Regina, SK (Canada)]↗

Distorted dislocation cores and asymmetric glide resistances in titanium

The determination of Critical Resolved Shear Stress (CRSS) in titanium for basal, prismatic, and pyramidal slip-planes without empirical constants is presented by combining Density Functional Theory (DFT) and anisotropic elasticity. A new mechanism leading to tension-compression (T-C) asymmetry in the CRSS levels has been revealed for the first time. The conditions for this asymmetry are established, involving a complex interplay between the dislocation core-structure and core-advance behavior. The three conditions for T-C asymmetry that need to be simultaneously satisfied can be summarized as: (1) a medium stacking fault width, d, (3 < d/b F < 10, where b F is the magnitude of the Burgers vector of the full dislocation), (2) an asymmetric core-structure of the extended dislocation (ξ 1 ≠ ξ 2 , where ξ 1 and ξ 2 are the core-widths of the first and second partials, respectively), and (3) intermittent motion of the partials (Δd/b F ≠ 0, where Δd is the magnitude of fluctuation in stacking fault width during intermittent motion). Pyramidal-slip in titanium satisfies all three conditions, resulting in significant T-C asymmetry. The CRSS theory considers a Wigner-Seitz (W-S) cell based domain area assigned to each lattice site for the calculations of core-energies accurately capturing the slip-plane lattice. The W-S based approach is essential due to the lower symmetry of the HCP crystal circumventing potential errors associated with the one-dimensional atomic-row approximation. Dislocation core structures are obtained for all the slip-systems in titanium showing significant distortion of the disregistry profile governing the core-advance behavior. The CRSS values predicted from the theory show agreement with the experimental CRSS levels reported in the literature.

Dislocation core↗

An Asymmetric Dust Ring around a Very Low Mass Star ZZ Tau IRS

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) gas and dust observations at band 7 (339 GHz: 0.89 mm) of the protoplanetary disk around a very low mass star ZZ Tau IRS with a spatial resolution of 025. The {sup 12}CO J = 3 → 2 position–velocity diagram suggests a dynamical mass of ZZ Tau IRS of ∼0.1–0.3 M {sub ☉}. The disk has a total flux density of 273.9 mJy, corresponding to an estimated mass of 24–50 M {sub ⊕} in dust. The dust emission map shows a ring at r = 58 au and an azimuthal asymmetry at r = 45 au with a position angle of 135°. The properties of the asymmetry, including radial width, aspect ratio, contrast, and contribution to the total flux, were found to be similar to the asymmetries around intermediate mass stars (∼2 M {sub ☉}) such as MWC 758 and IRS 48. This implies that the asymmetry in the ZZ Tau IRS disk shares a similar origin with others, despite the star being ∼10 times less massive. Our observations also suggest that the inner and outer parts of the disk may be misaligned. Overall, the ZZ Tau IRS disk shows evidence of giant planet formation on a ∼10 au scale at a few megayears. If confirmed, it will challenge existing core accretion models in which such planets have been predicted to be extremely hard to form around very low mass stars.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗