No Arabic abstract
We present Subaru/HiCIAO H-band high-contrast images of the debris disk around HIP 79977, whose pres- ence was recently inferred from an infrared excess. Our images resolve the disk for the first time, allowing characterization of its shape, size, and dust grain properties. We use angular differential imaging (ADI) to reveal the disk geometry in unpolarized light out to a radius of ~2, as well as polarized differential imaging (PDI) to measure the degree of scattering polarization out to ~1.5. In order to strike a favorable balance between suppression of the stellar halo and conservation of disk flux, we explore the application of principal component analysis (PCA) to both ADI and reference star subtraction. This allows accurate forward modeling of the effects of data reduction on simulated disk images, and thus direct comparison with the imaged disk. The resulting best-fit values and well-fitting intervals for the model parameters are a surface brightness power-law slope of S_out = -3.2 [-3.6,-2.9], an inclination of i = 84{deg} [81{deg},86{deg}], a high Henyey-Greenstein forward-scattering parameter of g = 0.45 [0.35, 0.60], and a non-significant disk-star offset of u = 3.0 [-1.5, 7.5] AU = 24 [-13, 61] mas along the line of nodes. Furthermore, the tangential linear polarization along the disk rises from ~10% at 0.5 to ~45% at 1.5. These measurements paint a consistent picture of a disk of dust grains produced by collisional cascades and blown out to larger radii by stellar radiation pressure.
We present observations of the known edge-on debris disk around HIP 79977 (HD 146897, F star in Upper Sco, 123 pc), taken with the ZIMPOL differential polarimeter of the SPHERE instrument in the Very Broad Band filter ($lambda_c=735$ nm, $Deltalambda=290$ nm) with a spatial resolution of about 25 mas. We measure the polarization flux along and perpendicular to the disk spine of the highly inclined disk for projected separations between 0.2 (25 AU) and 1.6 (200 AU) and investigate the diagnostic potential of such data with model simulations. The polarized flux contrast ratio for the disk is $F_{pol}/F_ast= (5.5 pm 0.9) 10^{-4}$. The surface brightness reaches a maximum of 16.2 mag arcsec$^{-2}$ at a separation of $0.2-0.5$ along the disk spine with a maximum surface brightness contrast of 7.64 mag arcsec$^{-2}$. The polarized flux has a minimum near the star $<0.2$ because no or only little polarization is produced by forward or backward scattering in the disk section lying in front of or behind the star. The data are modeled as a circular dust belt with an inclination $i=85(pm 1.5)^circ$ and a radius between $r_0$ = 60 AU and 90 AU. The radial density dependence is described by $(r/r_0)^{alpha}$ with a steep power law index $alpha=5$ inside $r_0$ and a more shallow index $alpha=-2.5$ outside $r_0$. The scattering asymmetry factor lies between $g$ = 0.2 and 0.6 adopting a scattering angle-dependence for the fractional polarization as for Rayleigh scattering. Our data are qualitatively very similar to the case of AU Mic and they confirm that edge-on debris disks have a polarization minimum at a position near the star and a maximum near the projected separation of the main debris belt. The comparison of the polarized flux contrast ratio $F_{pol}/F_{ast}$ with the fractional infrared excess provides strong constraints on the scattering albedo of the dust.
We present new, near-infrared (1.1--2.4 $mu m$) high-contrast imaging of the bright debris disk surrounding HIP 79977 with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics system (SCExAO) coupled with the CHARIS integral field spectrograph. SCExAO/CHARIS resolves the disk down to smaller angular separations of (0.11; $r sim 14$ au) and at a higher significance than previously achieved at the same wavelengths. The disk exhibits a marginally significant east-west brightness asymmetry in $H$ band that requires confirmation. Geometrical modeling suggests a nearly edge-on disk viewed at a position angle of $sim$ 114.6$^{o}$ east of north. The disk is best-fit by scattered-light models assuming strongly forward-scattering grains ($g$ $sim$ 0.5--0.65) confined to a torus with a peak density at $r_{0}$ $sim$ 53--75 au. We find that a shallow outer density power law of $alpha_{out}=$-1-- -3 and flare index of $beta = 1$ are preferred. Other disk parameters (e.g.~inner density power law and vertical scale height) are more poorly constrained. The disk has a slightly blue intrinsic color and its profile is broadly consistent with predictions from birth ring models applied to other debris disks. While HIP 79977s disk appears to be more strongly forward-scattering than most resolved disks surrounding 5--30 Myr-old stars, this difference may be due to observational biases favoring forward-scattering models for inclined disks vs. lower inclination, ostensibly neutral-scattering disks like HR 4796As. Deeper, higher signal-to-noise SCExAO/CHARIS data can better constrain the disks dust composition.
[abridged] Aims. Our Herschel Open Time Key Programme DUNES aims at detecting and characterizing debris disks around nearby, sun-like stars. In addition to the statistical analysis of the data, the detailed study of single objects through spatially resolving the disk and detailed modeling of the data is a main goal of the project. Methods. We obtained the first observations spatially resolving the debris disk around the sun-like star HIP 17439 (HD23484) using the instruments PACS and SPIRE on board the Herschel Space Observatory. Simultaneous multi-wavelength modeling of these data together with ancillary data from the literature is presented. Results. A standard single component disk model fails to reproduce the major axis radial profiles at 70 um, 100 um, and 160 um simultaneously. Moreover, the best-fit parameters derived from such a model suggest a very broad disk extending from few au up to few hundreds of au from the star with a nearly constant surface density which seems physically unlikely. However, the constraints from both the data and our limited theoretical investigation are not strong enough to completely rule out this model. An alternative, more plausible, and better fitting model of the system consists of two rings of dust at approx. 30 au and 90 au, respectively, while the constraints on the parameters of this model are weak due to its complexity and intrinsic degeneracies. Conclusions. The disk is probably composed of at least two components with different spatial locations (but not necessarily detached), while a single, broad disk is possible, but less likely. The two spatially well-separated rings of dust in our best-fit model suggest the presence of at least one high mass planet or several low-mass planets clearing the region between the two rings from planetesimals and dust.
The debris disk of HIP73145 has been detected in scattered light in the near-IR, and at far-IR wavelengths before, but no substructure has been seen so far. Detection of such substructures in combination with detailed modeling can hint at the presence of perturbing planetary bodies, or reveal other mechanisms acting to replenish gas and dust reservoirs and forming structures such as spirals or rings. We obtained multiwavelength images with SPHERE in the near-IR in the H2 and H3 bands with the IRDIS camera and a 0.95-1.35 micron spectral cube with the IFS. Data were acquired in pupil-tracking mode, thus allowing for angular differential imaging. The SPHERE standard suite of angular differential imaging algorithms was applied. ALMA Band 6 observations complement the SPHERE data. We detect a bright ring of scattered light plus more structures inside, at least one of them forming a secondary, concentric ring with the first. This is the first detection of this disk in total-intensity scattered light. A second object is detected in the field at high contrast but concluded to be a background star. Forward modeling yields information on the primary parameters of the disk and confirms that the detected substructures are not due to the data analysis approach, which sometimes leads to spurious structures. We detect a series of concentric rings in the disk around HIP73145. This is one of the rare cases where multiple components are necessary to fit the SED and are also detected in scattered light. The presence of such ring structures somewhat questions the nature of the object as a pure debris disk, but the gas and dust content would presumably offer sufficient explanations for such structures to form.
Debris disks offer valuable insights into the latest stages of circumstellar disk evolution, and can possibly help us to trace the outcomes of planetary formation processes. In the age range 10 to 100,Myr, most of the gas is expected to have been removed from the system, giant planets (if any) must have already been formed, and the formation of terrestrial planets may be on-going. Pluto-sized planetesimals, and their debris released in a collisional cascade, are under their mutual gravitational influence, which may result into non-axisymmetric structures in the debris disk. High angular resolution observations are required to investigate these effects and constrain the dynamical evolution of debris disks. Furthermore, multi-wavelength observations can provide information about the dust dynamics by probing different grain sizes. Here we present new VLT/SPHERE and ALMA observations of the debris disk around the 40,Myr-old solar-type star HD,61005. We resolve the disk at unprecedented resolution both in the near-infrared (in scattered and polarized light) and at millimeter wavelengths. Thanks to the new observations, we propose a solution for both the radial and azimuthal distribution of the dust grains in the debris disk. We find that the disk has a moderate eccentricity ($e sim 0.1$) and that the dust density is two times larger at the pericenter compared to the apocenter. With no giant planets detected in our observations, we investigate alternative explanations besides planet-disk interactions to interpret the inferred disk morphology. We postulate that the morphology of the disk could be the consequence of a massive collision between $sim$,1000,km-sized bodies at $sim$,61,au. If this interpretation holds, it would put stringent constraints on the formation of massive planetesimals at large distances from the star.