The Herschel DUst around NEarby Stars (DUNES) survey has found a number of debris disk candidates that are apparently very cold, with temperatures near 22K. It has proven difficult to fit their spectral energy distributions with conventional models f
or debris disks. Given this issue we carefully examine the alternative explanation, that the detections arise from confusion with IR cirrus and/or background galaxies that are not physically associated with the foreground star. We find that such an explanation is consistent with all of these detections.
We explore the collisional decay of disk mass and infrared emission in debris disks. With models, we show that the rate of the decay varies throughout the evolution of the disks, increasing its rate up to a certain point, which is followed by a level
ing off to a slower value. The total disk mass falls off ~ t^-0.35 at its fastest point (where t is time) for our reference model, while the dust mass and its proxy -- the infrared excess emission -- fades significantly faster (~ t^-0.8). These later level off to a decay rate of M_tot(t) ~ t^-0.08 and M_dust(t) or L_ir(t) ~ t^-0.6. This is slower than the ~ t^-1 decay given for all three system parameters by traditional analytic models. We also compile an extensive catalog of Spitzer and Herschel 24, 70, and 100 micron observations. Assuming a log-normal distribution of initial disk masses, we generate model population decay curves for the fraction of debris disk harboring stars observed at 24 micron and also model the distribution of measured excesses at the far-IR wavelengths (70-100 micron) at certain age regimes. We show general agreement at 24 micron between the decay of our numerical collisional population synthesis model and observations up to a Gyr. We associate offsets above a Gyr to stochastic events in a few select systems. We cannot fit the decay in the far infrared convincingly with grain strength properties appropriate for silicates, but those of water ice give fits more consistent with the observations.
We explore the evolution of the mass distribution of dust in collision-dominated debris disks, using the collisional code introduced in our previous paper. We analyze the equilibrium distribution and its dependence on model parameters by evolving ove
r 100 models to 10 Gyr. With our numerical models, we confirm that systems reach collisional equilibrium with a mass distribution that is steeper than the traditional solution by Dohnanyi (1969). Our model yields a quasi steady-state slope of n(m) ~ m^{-1.88} [n(a) ~ a^{-3.65}] as a robust solution for a wide range of possible model parameters. We also show that a simple power-law function can be an appropriate approximation for the mass distribution of particles in certain regimes. The steeper solution has observable effects in the submillimeter and millimeter wavelength regimes of the electromagnetic spectrum. We assemble data for nine debris disks that have been observed at these wavelengths and, using a simplified absorption efficiency model, show that the predicted slope of the particle mass distribution generates SEDs that are in agreement with the observed ones.
We develop a new numerical algorithm to model collisional cascades in debris disks. Because of the large dynamical range in particle masses, we solve the integro-differential equations describing erosive and catastrophic collisions in a particle-in-a
-box approach, while treating the orbital dynamics of the particles in an approximate fashion. We employ a new scheme for describing erosive (cratering) collisions that yields a continuous set of outcomes as a function of colliding masses. We demonstrate the stability and convergence characteristics of our algorithm and compare it with other treatments. We show that incorporating the effects of erosive collisions results in a decay of the particle distribution that is significantly faster than with purely catastrophic collisions.
We present 24 micron photometry of the intermediate-age open cluster Praesepe. We assemble a catalog of 193 probable cluster members that are detected in optical databases, the Two Micron All Sky Survey (2MASS), and at 24 micron, within an area of ~
2.47 square degrees. Mid-IR excesses indicating debris disks are found for one early-type and for three solar-type stars. Corrections for sampling statistics yield a 24 micron excess fraction (debris disk fraction) of 6.5 +- 4.1% for luminous and 1.9 +- 1.2% for solar-type stars. The incidence of excesses is in agreement with the decay trend of debris disks as a function of age observed for other cluster and field stars. The values also agree with those for older stars, indicating that debris generation in the zones that emit at 24 micron falls to the older 1-10 Gyr field star sample value by roughly 750 Myr. We discuss our results in the context of previous observations of excess fractions for early- and solar-type stars. We show that solar-type stars lose their debris disk 24 micron excesses on a shorter timescale than early-type stars. Simplistic Monte Carlo models suggest that, during the first Gyr of their evolution, up to 15-30% of solar-type stars might undergo an orbital realignment of giant planets such as the one thought to have led to the Late Heavy Bombardment, if the length of the bombardment episode is similar to the one thought to have happened in our Solar System. In the Appendix, we determine the clusters parameters via boostrap Monte Carlo isochrone fitting, yielding an age of 757 Myr (+- 36 Myr at 1 sigma confidence) and a distance of 179 pc (+- 2 pc at 1 sigma confidence), not allowing for systematic errors.
We have discovered a bow shock shaped mid-infrared excess region in front of delta Velorum using 24 micron observations obtained with the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS). The excess has been classified as a debris disk from previous i
nfrared observations. Although the bow shock morphology was only detected in the 24 micron observations, its excess was also resolved at 70 micron. We show that the stellar heating of an ambient interstellar medium (ISM) cloud can produce the measured flux. Since delta Velorum was classified as a debris disk star previously, our discovery may call into question the same classification of other stars. We model the interaction of the star and ISM, producing images that show the same geometry and surface brightness as is observed. The modeled ISM is 15 times overdense relative to the average Local Bubble value, which is surprising considering the close proximity (24 pc) of delta Velorum. The abundance anomalies of lambda Bootis stars have been previously explained as arising from the same type of interaction of stars with the ISM. Low resolution optical spectra of delta Velorum show that it does not belong to this stellar class. The star therefore is an interesting testbed for the ISM accretion theory of the lambda Bootis phenomenon.
