Deciphering ALMA observations of protoplanetary disks

Abstract: ALMA has given us a whole new view on planet-forming circumstellar disks. We now know that they contain rings of dust with deep gaps in between. Are these rings caused by planets? Do planets form in these rings? How turbulent or laminar are these disks? These are questions that are raised by these observations. In this talk I will outline some theoretical argumentations and present some numerical models to answer these questions, and to see how much information about planet formation we can squeeze out of these observations.