A Sub-AU Outwardly Truncated Accretion Disk around a Classical T Tauri Star
August 2008 • 2008ApJ...683L.187M
Abstract • We present the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectrum of SR 20, a 5-10 AU binary T Tauri system in the ρ Ophiuchi star-forming region. The spectrum has features consistent with the presence of a disk; however, the continuum slope is steeper than the λ-4/3 slope of an infinite geometrically thin, optically thick disk, indicating that the disk is outwardly truncated. Comparison with photometry from the literature shows a large increase in the mid-infrared flux from 1993 to 1996. We model the spectral energy distribution and IRS spectrum with a wall+optically thick irradiated disk, yielding an outer radius of 0.39-0.01+ 0.03 AU, much smaller than predicted by models of binary orbits. Using a two-temperature χ2 minimization model to fit the dust composition of the IRS spectrum, we find that the disk has experienced significant grain growth: its spectrum is well fitted using opacities of grains larger than 1 μm. We conclude that the system experienced a significant gravitational perturbation in the 1990s.
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