HST-NICMOS Coronagraphic Polarimetry of the Beta Pic Debris Disk

Details HST-NICMOS Coronagraphic Polarimetry of the Beta Pic Debris Disk HST-NICMOS Coronagraphic Polarimetry of the Beta Pic Debris Disk

Jan 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21335806m&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #358.06; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.501

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

Planetary debris disks, of which Beta Pic is the prototype, afford a unique window into the planet formation era stretching from oligarchic growth to late heavy bombardment. By observing these disks in scattered starlight, it is possible to trace transitory sub-micron grains that are linked to macroscopic bodies in the system by a collisional cascade. Like many resolved debris disks, Beta Pic is nearly edge-on with respect to our line of sight, making it challenging to disentangle the physical structure of the disk from the scattering properties of the grains. Polarimetric observations can break this degeneracy, allowing us to directly probe both the disk architecture and the grain structure (e.g., porosity). With this motivation, we present preliminary results of our program to image the Beta Pic debris disk with Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS coronagraphic polarimetry observations. The polarization signature of the grains along the disk midplane is clearly observed between 0.3" and 8" radius, with a low fractional polarization throughout (starting at a few percent near the coronagraphic spot, and rising to 20%). We discuss these observational results within the context of theoretical models, which allow us to place unique constraints on the disk architecture and the physical origin of the observed grains.

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