Panchromatic Imaging of a Transitional Disk: The Disk of GM Aur in Optical and FUV Scattered Light

We have imaged GM Aur with HST, detected its disk in scattered light at 1400A and 1650A, and compared these with observations at 3300A, 5550A, 1.1 microns, and 1.6 microns. The scattered light increases at shorter wavelengths. The radial surface brightness profile at 3300A shows no evidence of the 24AU radius cavity that has been previously observed in sub-mm observations. Comparison with dust grain opacity models indicates the surface of the entire disk is populated with sub-micron grains. We have compiled an SED from 0.1 microns to 1 mm, and used it to constrain a model of the star+disk system that includes the sub-mm cavity using the Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer code by Barbara Whitney. The best-fit model image indicates that the cavity should be detectable in the F330W bandpass if the cavity has been cleared of both large and small dust grains, but we do not detect it. The lack of an observed cavity can be explained by the presence of sub-microns grains interior to the sub-mm cavity wall. We suggest one explanation for this which could be due to a planet of mass <9 Jupiter masses interior to 24 AU. A unique cylindrical structure is detected in the FUV data from the Advanced Camera for Surveys/Solar Blind Channel. It is aligned along the system semi-minor axis, but does not resemble an accretion-driven jet. The structure is limb-brightened and extends 190 +/- 35 AU above the disk midplane. The inner radius of the limb-brightening is 40 +/- 10 AU, just beyond the sub-millimeter cavity wall.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, accepted to Ap

Imaging the Disk and Jet of the Classical T Tauri Star AA Tau

Previous studies of the classical T Tauri star AA Tau have interpreted the UX-Orionis-like photo-polarimetric variability as being due to a warp in the inner disk caused by an inclined stellar magnetic dipole field. We test that these effects are macroscopically observable in the inclination and alignment of the disk. We use Hubble Space Telescope (HST)/STIS coronagraphic imagery to measure the V magnitude of the star for both STIS coronagraphic observations, compare these data with optical photometry in the literature, and find that, unlike other classical T Tauri stars observed in the same HST program, the disk is most robustly detected in scattered light at stellar optical minimum light.We measure the outer disk radius, 1 inch.15 plus-minus 0 inch.10, major-axis position angle, and disk inclination and find that the inner disk, as reported in the literature, is both misinclined and misaligned with respect to the outer disk. AA Tau drives a faint jet, detected in both STIS observations and in follow-on Goddard Fabry-Perot imagery, which is also misaligned with respect to the projection of the outer disk minor axis and is poorly collimated near the star, but which can be traced 21 inches from the star in data from 2005. The measured outer disk inclination, 71deg plus-minus 1deg, is out of the range of inclinations suggested for stars with UX-Orionis-like variability when no grain growth has occurred in the disk. The faintness of the disk, small disk size, and detection of the star despite the high inclination all indicate that the dust disk must have experienced grain growth and settling toward the disk midplane, which we verify by comparing the observed disk with model imagery from the literature

Variability of Disk Emission in Pre-Main Sequence and Related Stars. II. Variability in the Gas and Dust Emission of the Herbig Fe Star SAO 206462

We present thirteen epochs of near-infrared (0.8-5 micron) spectroscopic observations of the pre-transitional, "gapped" disk system in SAO 206462 (=HD 135344B). In all, six gas emission lines (including Br gamma, Pa beta, and the 0.8446 micron line of O I) along with continuum measurements made near the standard J, H, K, and L photometric bands were measured. A mass accretion rate of approximately 2 x 10^-8 solar masses per year was derived from the Br gamma and Pa beta lines. However, the fluxes of these lines varied by a factor of over two during the course of a few months. The continuum also varied, but by only ~30%, and even decreased at a time when the gas emission was increasing. The H I line at 1.083 microns was also found to vary in a manner inconsistent with that of either the hydrogen lines or the dust. Both the gas and dust variabilities indicate significant changes in the region of the inner gas and the inner dust belt that may be common to many young disk systems. If planets are responsible for defining the inner edge of the gap, they could interact with the material on time scales commensurate with what is observed for the variations in the dust, while other disk instabilities (thermal, magnetorotational) would operate there on longer time scales than we observe for the inner dust belt. For SAO 206462, the orbital period would likely be 1-3 years. If the changes are being induced in the disk material closer to the star than the gap, a variety of mechanisms (disk instabilities, interactions via planets) might be responsible for the changes seen. The He I feature is most likely due to a wind whose orientation changes with respect to the observer on time scales of a day or less. To further constrain the origin of the gas and dust emission will require multiple spectroscopic and interferometric observations on both shorter and longer time scales that have been sampled so far.Comment: 42 pages, 10 figure

Serum neurofilament light chain levels are associated with white matter integrity in autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease

Neurofilament light chain (NfL) is a protein that is selectively expressed in neurons. Increased levels of NfL measured in either cerebrospinal fluid or blood is thought to be a biomarker of neuronal damage in neurodegenerative diseases. However, there have been limited investigations relating NfL to the concurrent measures of white matter (WM) decline that it should reflect. White matter damage is a common feature of Alzheimer's disease. We hypothesized that serum levels of NfL would associate with WM lesion volume and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics cross-sectionally in 117 autosomal dominant mutation carriers (MC) compared to 84 non-carrier (NC) familial controls as well as in a subset (N = 41) of MC with longitudinal NfL and MRI data. In MC, elevated cross-sectional NfL was positively associated with WM hyperintensity lesion volume, mean diffusivity, radial diffusivity, and axial diffusivity and negatively with fractional anisotropy. Greater change in NfL levels in MC was associated with larger changes in fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, and radial diffusivity, all indicative of reduced WM integrity. There were no relationships with NfL in NC. Our results demonstrate that blood-based NfL levels reflect WM integrity and supports the view that blood levels of NfL are predictive of WM damage in the brain. This is a critical result in improving the interpretability of NfL as a marker of brain integrity, and for validating this emerging biomarker for future use in clinical and research settings across multiple neurodegenerative diseases

Exploring Afternoon Sun: A Microclimate Study of Localized Solar Heating

Microclimates can exist on scales of millimeters to kilometers. In this study we are concerned with microclimates on the meter scale that are created by buildings. Specifically, we are concerned with the creation of microclimates due to possible differential solar heating on the east and west sides of buildings. By using dense data collection, we are collecting temperature data on the east and west facing sides of a building to determine if distinct temperature microclimates exist on the two sides of such a building. Data loggers were used to record 720 temperatures a day at three locations, one each in the sun on the east and west sides of the building, and one in the shade, over a period of several months. Preliminary data analysis indicates that there is a small, but measurable, average temperature difference between the sunny areas on the two sides of the building. The west-facing side of the building, the side that receives afternoon sun, is warmer on average. Average daytime and nighttime temperatures are also being considered, along with nighttime cooling rates at the various locations. The difference in heat energy associated with the different temperature regions is being considered as a means of quantifying the distinct microclimate results. Finally, the affect of the seasonal variation of the position of the sun in the sky on these microclimate results is being determined. Results of this study can be used as an aid in making landscaping decisions, and in other decisions related to local temperature

The Discovery of a Photoevaporation-Driven Molecular Outflow from the T Tauri Transitional Disk GM Aur

Circumstellar disks are not only a byproduct of star formation, but are also the place where planets form and migrate. The dominant gas-phase constituent of disks early in their evolution is H2, and its lifetime in the disk limits the time available for gas giant planet formation and migration. A number of mechanisms have been proposed to remove gas, including photoevaporation in the presence of the stellar X-ray, EUV, and FUV radiation field, but the relative importance of these different components and the point in disk evolution where they become significant remain uncertain. Some models predict enhanced evaporation of gas in the outer disk once the inner portions of the disk have begun to clear. One such system is the T Tauri star GM Aur which hosts a large disk with an r=20 AU central cavity. We have carried out the first high-contrast FUV imaging of this star+disk using HST ACS/SBC and report the detection of the inner 1" (140 AU) of the disk in the FUV and the discovery of a roughly cylindrical structure 90 AU in radius and extending 200 AU orthogonal to the disk, aligned with the previously reported red, polar lobes. The structure is brightest at wavelengths where there are numerous fluorescent molecular hydrogen transitions, both in our imagery and in an archival HST/STIS long-slit spectrum. The cylinder is marginally detected in the ACS/SBC F165LP band indicating that there is some sub-0.2 micron-sized dust entrained in it, but is not detected in ACS/SBC F122M imagery. The radial scale of the footprint of the cylinder on the disk and the absence of atomic emission lines associated with the structure exclude a conventional jet, but are consistent with a photoevaporation-driven outflow. We compare the properties of this outflow with predictions of X-ray, EUV, and FUV-driven disk winds