473 research outputs found
Discovery of a Planetary-Mass Brown Dwarf with a Circumstellar Disk
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, the 4 m Blanco telescope at the Cerro
Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have
performed deep imaging from 0.8 to 8 um of the southern subcluster in the
Chamaeleon I star-forming region. In these data, we have discovered an object,
Cha 110913-773444, whose colors and magnitudes are indicative of a very
low-mass brown dwarf with a circumstellar disk. In a near-infrared spectrum of
this source obtained with the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph, the presence
of strong steam absorption confirms its late-type nature (>=M9.5) while the
shapes of the H- and K-band continua and the strengths of the Na I and K I
lines demonstrate that it is a young, pre-main-sequence object rather than a
field dwarf. A comparison of the bolometric luminosity of Cha 110913-773444 to
the luminosities predicted by the evolutionary models of Chabrier and Baraffe
and Burrows and coworkers indicates a mass of 8+7/-3 M_Jup, placing it fully
within the mass range observed for extrasolar planetary companions (M<=15
M_Jup). The spectral energy distribution of this object exhibits mid-infrared
excess emission at >5 um, which we have successfully modeled in terms of an
irradiated viscous accretion disk with M'<=10e-12 M_sun/year. Cha 110913-773444
is now the least massive brown dwarf observed to have a circumstellar disk, and
indeed is one of the least massive free-floating objects found to date. These
results demonstrate that the raw materials for planet formation exist around
free-floating planetary-mass bodies.Comment: 5 pages, accepted to Astrophysical Journal Letter
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The Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph Survey of T Tauri Stars in Taurus
We present 161 Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra of T Tauri stars and young brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. All of the targets were selected based on their infrared excess and are therefore surrounded by protoplanetary disks; they form the complete sample of all available IRS spectra of T Tauri stars with infrared excesses in Taurus. We also present the IRS spectra of seven Class 0/I objects in Taurus to complete the sample of available IRS spectra of protostars in Taurus. We use spectral indices that are not significantly affected by extinction to distinguish between envelope-and disk-dominated objects. Together with data from the literature, we construct spectral energy distributions for all objects in our sample. With spectral indices derived from the IRS spectra we infer disk properties such as dust settling and the presence of inner disk holes and gaps. We find a transitional disk frequency, which is based on objects with unusually large 13-31 mu m spectral indices indicative of a wall surrounding an inner disk hole, of about 3%, and a frequency of about 20% for objects with unusually large 10 mu m features, which could indicate disk gaps. The shape and strength of the 10 mu m silicate emission feature suggests weaker 10 mu m emission and more processed dust for very low mass objects and brown dwarfs (spectral types M6-M9). These objects also display weaker infrared excess emission from their disks, but do not appear to have more settled disks than their higher-mass counterparts. We find no difference for the spectral indices and properties of the dust between single and multiple systems.NASANASA through JPL/CaltechNASA through the Spitzer Space TelescopeNational Science Foundation AST-0544588, 0901947Pennsylvania State UniversityEberly College of SciencePennsylvania Space Grant ConsortiumNSFAstronom
Unveiling the Structure of Pre-Transitional Disks
In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are empty of small
dust grains have been detected and are known as transitional disks. Recently,
Spitzer has identified a new class of "pre-transitional disks" with gaps; these
objects have an optically thick inner disk separated from an optically thick
outer disk by an optically thin disk gap. A near-infrared spectrum provided the
first confirmation of a gap in the pre-transitional disk of LkCa 15 by
verifying that the near-infrared excess emission in this object was due to an
optically thick inner disk. Here we investigate the difference between the
nature of the inner regions of transitional and pre-transitional disks using
the same veiling-based technique to extract the near-infrared excess emission
above the stellar photosphere. We show that the near-infrared excess emission
of the previously identified pre-transitional disks of LkCa 15 and UX Tau A in
Taurus as well as the newly identified pre-transitional disk of ROX 44 in
Ophiuchus can be fit with an inner disk wall located at the dust destruction
radius. We also model the broad-band SEDs of these objects, taking into account
the effect of shadowing by the inner disk on the outer disk, considering the
finite size of the star. The near-infrared excess continua of these three
pre-transitional disks, which can be explained by optically thick inner disks,
are significantly different from that of the transitional disks of GM Aur,
whose near-infrared excess continuum can be reproduced by emission from
sub-micron-sized optically thin dust, and DM Tau, whose near-infrared spectrum
is consistent with a disk hole that is relatively free of small dust. The
structure of pre-transitional disks may be a sign of young planets forming in
these disks and future studies of pre-transitional disks will provide
constraints to aid in theoretical modeling of planet formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ on May 10, 2010; 29 page
A Spitzer view of protoplanetary disks in the gamma Velorum cluster
We present new Spitzer Space Telescope observations of stars in the young ~5
Myr gamma Velorum stellar cluster. Combining optical and 2MASS photometry, we
have selected 579 stars as candidate members of the cluster. With the addition
of the Spitzer mid-infrared data, we have identified 5 debris disks around
A-type stars, and 5-6 debris disks around solar-type stars, indicating that the
strong radiation field in the cluster does not completely suppress the
production of planetesimals in the disks of cluster members. However, we find
some evidence that the frequency of circumstellar primordial disks is lower,
and the IR flux excesses are smaller than for disks around stellar populations
with similar ages. This could be evidence for a relatively fast dissipation of
circumstellar dust by the strong radiation field from the highest mass star(s)
in the cluster. Another possibility is that gamma Velorum stellar cluster is
slightly older than reported ages and the the low frequency of primordial disks
reflects the fast disk dissipation observed at ~5 Myr.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal: 32 pages; 11
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First Fruits of the Spitzer Space Telescope: Galactic and Solar System Studies
This article provides a brief overview of the Spitzer Space Telescope and
discusses its initial scientific results on galactic and solar system science.Comment: Review article to appear in slightly different format in Vol.44 of
Annual Reviews of Astronomy and Astrophysics, 200
Millimeter imaging of HD 163296: probing the disk structure and kinematics
We present new multi-wavelength millimeter interferometric observations of
the Herbig Ae star HD 163296 obtained with the IRAM/PBI, SMA and VLA arrays
both in continuum and in the 12CO, 13CO and C18O emission lines. Gas and dust
properties have been obtained comparing the observations with self-consistent
disk models for the dust and CO emission. The circumstellar disk is resolved
both in the continuum and in CO. We find strong evidence that the circumstellar
material is in Keplerian rotation around a central star of 2.6 Msun. The disk
inclination with respect to the line of sight is 46+-4 deg with a position
angle of 128+-4 deg. The slope of the dust opacity measured between 0.87 and 7
mm (beta=1) confirms the presence of mm/cm-size grains in the disk midplane.
The dust continuum emission is asymmetric and confined inside a radius of 200
AU while the CO emission extends up to 540 AU. The comparison between dust and
CO temperature indicates that CO is present only in the disk interior. Finally,
we obtain an increasing depletion of CO isotopomers from 12CO to 13CO and C18O.
We argue that these results support the idea that the disk of HD 163296 is
strongly evolved. In particular, we suggest that there is a strong depletion of
dust relative to gas outside 200 AU; this may be due to the inward migration of
large bodies that form in the outer disk or to clearing of a large gap in the
dust distribution by a low mass companion.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&A, 16 page
A slowly accreting ~10 Myr old transitional disk in Orion OB1a
Here we present the Spitzer IRS spectrum of CVSO 224, the sole transitional
disk located within the ~10 Myr old 25 Orionis group in Orion OB1a. A model fit
to the spectral energy distribution of this object indicates a ~7 AU inner disk
hole that contains a small amount of optically thin dust. In previous studies,
CVSO 224 had been classified as a weak-line T Tauri star based on its Halpha
equivalent width, but here we find an accretion rate of 7x10^-11 Msun/yr based
on high-resolution Hectochelle data. CVSO 224's low mass accretion rate is in
line with photoevaporative clearing theories. However, the Spitzer IRS spectrum
of CVSO 224 has a substantial mid-infrared excess beyond 20microns which
indicates that it is surrounded by a massive outer disk. Millimeter
measurements are necessary to constrain the mass of the outer disk around CVSO
224 in order to confirm that photoevaporation is not the mechanism behind
creating its inner disk hole.Comment: 4 pages, accepted to ApJ
Mid-Infrared Variability of protostars in IC 1396A
We have used Spitzer/IRAC to conduct a photometric monitoring program of the
IC1396A dark globule in order to study the mid-IR (3.6 - 8 micron) variability
of the heavily embedded Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) present in that area. We
obtained light curves covering a 14 day timespan with a twice daily cadence for
69 YSOs, and continuous light curves with approximately 12 second cadence over
7 hours for 38 YSOs. Typical accuracies for our relative photometry were 1-2%
for the long timespan data and a few mmag, corresponding to less than 0.5%, for
the 7 hour continuous "staring-mode" data. More than half of the YSOs showed
detectable variability, with amplitudes from ~0.05 mag to ~0.2 mag. About
thirty percent of the YSOs showed quasi-sinusoidal light curve shapes with
apparent periods from 5-12 days and light curve amplitudes approximately
independent of wavelength over the IRAC bandpasses. We have constructed models
which simulate the time dependent spectral energy distributions of Class I and
I I YSOs in order to attempt to explain these light curves. Based on these
models, the apparently periodic light curves are best explained by YSO models
where one or two high latitude photospheric spots heat the inner wall of the
circumstellar disk, and where we view the disk at fairly large inclination
angle. Disk inhomogeneities, such as increasing the height where the accretion
funnel flows to the stellar hotspot, enhances the light curve modulations. The
other YSOs in our sample show a range of light curve shapes, some of which are
probably due to varying accretion rate or disk shadowing events. One star,
IC1396A-47, shows a 3.5 hour periodic light curve; this object may be a PMS
Delta Scuti star
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