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Young circumstellar disks are of prime interest to understand the physicaland chemical conditions under which planet formation takes place. Only very fewdetections of planet candidates within these disks exist, and most of them arecurrently suspected to be disk features. In this context, the transition diskaround the young star PDS 70 is of particular interest, due to its large gapidentified in previous observations, indicative of ongoing planet formation. Weaim to search for the presence of planets and search for disk structuresindicative for disk-planet interactions and other evolutionary processes. Weanalyse new and archival near-infrared (NIR) images of the transition disk PDS70 obtained with the VLT/SPHERE, VLT/NaCo and Gemini/NICI instruments inpolarimetric differential imaging (PDI) and angular differential imaging (ADI)modes. We detect a point source within the gap of the disk at about 195 mas(about 22 au) projected separation. The detection is confirmed at fivedifferent epochs, in three filter bands and using different instruments. Theastrometry results in an object of bound nature, with high significance. Thecomparison of the measured magnitudes and colours to evolutionary trackssuggests that the detection is a companion of planetary mass. We confirm thedetection of a large gap of about 54 au in size within the disk in ourscattered light images, and detect a signal from an inner disk component. Wefind that its spatial extent is very likely smaller than about 17 au in radius.The images of the outer disk show evidence of a complex azimuthal brightnessdistribution which may in part be explained by Rayleigh scattering from verysmall grains. Future observations of this system at different wavelengths andcontinuing astrometry will allow us to test theoretical predictions regardingplanet-disk interactions, planetary atmospheres and evolutionary models.

Discovery of a planetary-mass companion within the gap of the transition disk around PDS 70