Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 2007
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2007sptz.prop40127h&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #40127
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
Accretion disks are ubiquitous in astronomy, providing the driving mechanism for such phenomena as the tremendous energy output from AGN and the production of planets around a parent star. Accretion disks are generally grouped as cold or hot: proto-stellar disks, with temperatures of 5000K or less, and accretion disks in interacting binaries and AGN with temperatures in excess of 5000K. Recently, new near-IR spectroscopic observations of the interacting binary WZ Sge have revealed, for the first time, a system that may span the two types of astrophysical disks. Strong H and He emission lines and an optically blue continuum provide evidence for hot disk regions of temperature 5000-10,000K. Our new discovery of molecular emission indicates that the binary also contains cool, dusty regions with T=2000-3000K or less. The environs of WZ Sge provide the only known laboratory in which both a hot and a cold disk exist simultaneously. We propose to use Spitzer to understand the source and physics of the cold material, the molecular content, and the dust conditions present in WZ Sge.
Brinkworth Carolyn
Ciardi David
Hoard Donald
Howell Steve
Szkody Paula
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