Mid-Infrared Imaging of Circumstellar Debris Disks

Details Mid-Infrared Imaging of Circumstellar Debris Disks Mid-Infrared Imaging of Circumstellar Debris Disks

Feb 1999

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999noao.prop...11j&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #1999A-0011

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy

Scientific paper

The Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) detected thermal emission indicative of circumstellar disks from over 100 main sequence stars. Most ``Vega-type'' disks are assumed to be debris or remnant disks rather than protoplanetary structures. It is thought that circumstellar disks evolve from massive optically thick structures to low-mass optically thin structures and that disk evolution is closely linked to the planet formation process. However, the timescales for disk evolution and planet formation are highly uncertain due to difficulties in assigning reliable ages to isolated main sequence stars. Our recent discovery of a spatially-resolved dust disk with a central cavity around the 10-Myr-old star HR 4796A provides important constraints. But it is dangerous to draw too many conclusions from one example. Therefore, we propose to image disks around a sample of nearby Vega-type stars, whose ages can be determined from low-mass binary or proper motion companions, using OSCIR on the CTIO 4m telescope. Our 10(micron) and 18(micron) observations are aimed at studying the diversity of debris disks, placing them in an evolutionary context, constraining timescales for planet formation, and, in some cases, determining the possible effects of close binary companions.

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