Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Oct 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005nrdd.conf....9g&link_type=abstract
Proceedings of the Miniworkshop on Nearby Resolved Debris Disks. October 19-20, 2005. Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimo
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We present B-, V-, and I-band coronagraphic images of the dusty debris disk around Beta Pictoris obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Our PSF-subtracted and deconvolved images show that the previously observed warp in the inner disk (< 150 AU from the star), is a distinct secondary disk inclined to the main outer disk by ~5 deg. The midplane surface brightness profiles of each extension of the secondary disk between 80 and 150 AU from the star can be fit with single power laws, i.e, the profiles' gradients do not exhibit the pronounced inflections at ~115 AU that are seen in both extensions of the main disk. The photometric precision afforded by ACS enables us to measure the optical colors of the disk with 5-15 times greater certainty than previously obtained from the ground. Whereas previous studies indicated that the disk had neutral colors (within the estimated photometric uncertainties), we find that, within ~120 AU, the B-V and B-I colors of the composite disk (i.e., the main and secondary disks combined) are ~10% and ~20% redder, respectively, than those of Beta Pic. Beyond ~120 AU, the B-V and B-I colors increasingly redden, becoming 25% and 40% redder than the star at 250 AU. The change in color at ~120 AU coincides with the prominent change in the gradient of the midplane surface brightness profile of the main disk, which has been attributed to the sublimation of water ice within ~115 AU. The colors within ~120 AU are consistent with those expected for compact or moderately porous grains of astronomical silicate or graphite with a minimum radius of ~0.2 micron. However, the colors are not consistent with the scenario of very porous cometary grains that account for the thermal continuum and silicate emission features observed at far-infrared to millimeter wavelengths.
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