2003ApJ...588L.113M -
Astrophys. J., 588, L113-L116 (2003/May-2)
The first detection of spatially resolved mid-infrared scattered light from a protoplanetary disk.
McCABE C., DUCHENE G. and GHEZ A.M.
Abstract (from CDS):
We report spatially resolved 11.8 µm images, obtained at the W. M. Keck 10 m telescope, of the protoplanetary disk around the pre-main-sequence star HK Tau B. The mid-infrared morphology and astrometry of HK Tau B with respect to HK Tau A indicate that the flux observed in the mid-infrared from HK Tau B has been scattered off the upper surface of its nearly edge-on disk. This is the first example of a protoplanetary disk observed in scattered light at mid-infrared wavelengths. Monte Carlo simulations of this disk show that the extent (FWHM∼0".5 or ∼70 AU) of the scattered light nebula in the mid-infrared is very sensitive to the dust size distribution. The 11.8 µm measurement can be best modeled by a dust grain population that contains grains on the order of 1.5-3 µm in size; grain populations with exclusively submicron grain sizes or power-law size distributions that extend beyond 5 µm cannot reproduce the observed morphology. These grains are significantly larger than those expected in the interstellar medium, implying that grain growth has occurred; whether this growth is a result of dust evolution within the disk itself or had originally occurred within the dark cloud remains an open question.
Abstract Copyright:
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Journal keyword(s):
Stars: Binaries: Visual - ISM: Dust, Extinction - Stars: Planetary Systems: Protoplanetary Disks - Scattering - Stars: Individual: Constellation Name: HK Tauri - Stars: Pre-Main-Sequence
Simbad objects:
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