Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc

Details Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc

2012-03-28

arxiv.org/abs/1203.6265v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

Earth and Planetary Astrophysics

11 pages, 8 figures, submitted for publication in A&A. Note: Made available before acceptance to serve as supporting material

Scientific paper

A region of roughly half of the Solar system scale around the star HD 100546 is largely cleared of gas and dust, in contrast to the outer disc extending to about 400 AU. However, some material is observed in the immediate vicinity of the star, called the inner disc. Studying the structure of the inner and the outer disc is a first step to establish the origin of the gap between them and possibly link it to presence of planets. We answer how the dust is distributed within and outside the gap, and constrain the disc geometry. We observe the disc with VLTI interferometer N-band instrument MIDI. At these wavelengths disc completely dominates over the stellar emission. With baseline lengths of 40m our long baseline observations (8.2m telescopes) are most sensitive to the inner few AU from the star, and we combine them with observations at shorter, 15m baselines (1.8m telescopes), to probe emission beyond the gap at up to 20AU from the star. We derive an upper limit of 0.7AU for the mid-infrared size of the inner disc, from our longest baseline data. The chromatic phases show that the N-band brightness of the inner disc is not point-symmetric. Our short baseline data place a bright symmetric ring of emission at 11AU. This is consistent with prior observations of the transition region between the gap and the outer disc, known as the disc wall. The ring inclination and position angles are constrained by our data to i=53+-8deg and PA=145+-5deg. These values are close to known estimates of the rim and disc geometry and suggest co-planarity. Micron-sized dust is distributed asymmetrically in the region from the dust sublimation radius to less than 0.7AU from HD100546 in observations from 2004 Jun to 2005 Dec. This small dusty disc is separated from the symmetric edge of the outer disc by a large, ~10AU wide gap cleared of micron-sized dust but possibly populated by planetesimals and/or planets.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

No associations

Rating

Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Resolving HD 100546 disc in the mid-infrared: Small and asymmetric inner disc inside a bright symmetric edge of the outer disc will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-272775