  Over the last few years instruments such as VLT/SPHERE and Subaru/HiCIAO have
been able to take detailed scattered light images of protoplanetary discs. Many
of the features observed in these discs are generally suspected to be caused by
an embedded planet, and understanding the cause of these features requires
detailed theoretical models. In this work we investigate disc-planet
interactions using the PLUTO code to run 2D and 3D hydrodynamic simulations of
protoplanetary discs with embedded 30 M$_{\oplus}$ and 300 M$_{\oplus}$ planets
on both an inclined ($i = 2.86^{\circ}$) and non-inclined orbit, using an
$\alpha$-viscosity of $4 \times 10^{-3}$. We produce synthetic scattered-light
images of these discs at \emph{H-band} wavelengths using the radiative transfer
code RADMC3D. We find that while the surface density evolution in 2D and 3D
simulations of inclined and non-inclined planets remain fairly similar, their
observational appearance is remarkably different. Most of the features seen in
the synthetic \emph{H-band} images are connected to density variations of the
disc at around 3.3 scale heights above and below the midplane, which emphasizes
the need for 3D simulations. Planets on sustained orbital inclinations disrupt
the disc's upper-atmosphere and produce radically different observable features
and intensity profiles, including shadowing effects and intensity variation in
the order of 10-20 times the surrounding background. The vertical optical depth
to the disc midplane for \emph{H-band} wavelengths is $\tau \approx 20$ in the
disc gap created by the high-mass planet. We conclude that direct imaging of
planets embedded in the disc remains difficult to observe, even for massive
planets in the gap.

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics