Thermal Emission from a Newly Resolved Debris Disk
First Author:
Michael Fitzgerald
Email: mpfitz AT llnl.gov
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
7000 East Ave., L-413
Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Coauthors:
Graham, James R., UC Berkeley
Kalas, Paul, UC Berkeley
Duchêne, Gaspard, UC Berkeley
Abstract
We report the discovery of an extended disk surrounding the A2IV star HD 131835, a young (~10-20 Myr) star at 110 parsec and a likely member of the Upper Centaurus Lupus moving group. We have spatially resolved the disk in thermal emission at 11.7 and 18.3 microns with the T-ReCS instrument on Gemini South. The images show extensions indicating the disk is seen at an inclination near edge-on, with a PA of 55 degrees. In both bands, the disk ansae are detected out to sensitivity limits at ~100-150 AU. The morphology of the 18.3 micron image reveals a warp in the outermost regions, deviating ~30 degrees from the inner disk. Spatially unresolved excess above the stellar photosphere is also detected in both bands, which can be explained by a source of parent bodies interior to ~35 AU. Subtraction of this unresolved component suggests differing color temperature between the resolved ansae. In turn, this indicates the presence of dynamical processes that affect the azimuthal dependence of the grain size distribution.
