Monte-Carlo radiative transfer simulation of the circumstellar disk of the Herbig Ae star HD 144432

Studies of pre-transitional disks, with a gap region between the inner infrared-emitting region and the outer disk, are important to improving our understanding of disk evolution and planet formation. Previous infrared interferometric observations have shown hints of a gap region in the protoplanetary disk around the Herbig Ae star HD~144432. We study the dust distribution around this star with two-dimensional radiative transfer modeling. We compare the model predictions obtained via the Monte-Carlo radiative transfer code RADMC-3D with infrared interferometric observations and the {\SED} of HD~144432. The best-fit model that we found consists of an inner optically thin component at 0.21\enDash0.32~\AU and an optically thick outer disk at 1.4\enDash10~\AU. We also found an alternative model in which the inner sub-AU region consists of an optically thin and an optically thick component. Our modeling suggests an optically thin component exists in the inner sub-AU region, although an optically thick component may coexist in the same region. Our modeling also suggests a gap-like discontinuity in the disk of HD~144432.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure

The inner circumstellar disk of the UX Ori star V1026 Sco

The UX Ori type variables (named after the prototype of their class) are intermediate-mass pre-main sequence objects. One of the most likely causes of their variability is the obscuration of the central star by orbiting dust clouds. We investigate the structure of the circumstellar environment of the UX~Ori star V1026 Sco (HD 142666) and test whether the disk inclination is large enough to explain the UX Ori variability. We observed the object in the low-resolution mode of the near-infrared interferometric VLTI/AMBER instrument and derived H- and K-band visibilities and closure phases. We modeled our AMBER observations, published Keck Interferometer observations, archival MIDI/VLTI visibilities, and the spectral energy distribution using geometric and temperature-gradient models. Employing a geometric inclined-ring disk model, we find a ring radius of 0.15 +- 0.06 AU in the H band and 0.18 +- 0.06 AU in the K band. The best-fit temperature-gradient model consists of a star and two concentric, ring-shaped disks. The inner disk has a temperature of 1257^{+133}_{-53} K at the inner rim and extends from 0.19 +- 0.01 AU to 0.23 +- 0.02 AU. The outer disk begins at 1.35^{+0.19}_{-0.20} AU and has an inner temperature of 334^{+35}_{-17} K. The derived inclination of 48.6^{+2.9}_{-3.6}deg approximately agrees with the inclination derived with the geometric model (49 +- 5deg in the K band and 50 +- 11deg in the H band). The position angle of the fitted geometric and temperature-gradient models are 163 +- 9deg (K band; 179 +- 17deg in the H band) and 169.3^{+4.2}_{-6.7}deg, respectively. The narrow width of the inner ring-shaped model disk and the disk gap might be an indication for a puffed-up inner rim shadowing outer parts of the disk. The intermediate inclination of ~50deg is consistent with models of UX Ori objects where dust clouds in the inclined disk obscure the central star

AMBER/VLTI observations of the B[e] star MWC 300

Aims. We study the enigmatic B[e] star MWC 300 to investigate its disk and binary with milli-arcsecond-scale angular resolution. Methods. We observed MWC 300 with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in the H and K bands and compared these observations with temperature-gradient models to derive model parameters. Results. The measured low visibility values, wavelength dependence of the visibilities, and wavelength dependence of the closure phase directly suggest that MWC 300 consists of a resolved disk and a close binary. We present a model consisting of a binary and a temperature-gradient disk that is able to reproduce the visibilities, closure phases, and spectral energy distribution. This model allows us to constrain the projected binary separation (~4.4 mas or ~7.9 AU), the flux ratio of the binary components (~2.2), the disk temperature power-law index, and other parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, accepted by A&

Near-infrared interferometric observation of the Herbig Ae star HD144432 with VLTI/AMBER

We study the sub-AU-scale circumstellar environment of the Herbig Ae star HD144432 with near-infrared (NIR) VLTI/AMBER observations to investigate the structure of its inner dust disk. The interferometric observations were carried out with the AMBER instrument in the H and K band. We interpret the measured H- and K-band visibilities, the near- and mid-infrared visibilities from the literature, and the SED of HD144432 by using geometric ring models and ring-shaped temperature-gradient disk models with power-law temperature distributions. We derived a K-band ring-fit radius of 0.17 \pm 0.01 AU and an H-band radius of 0.18 \pm 0.01 AU (for a distance of 145 pc). This measured K-band radius of \sim0.17 AU lies in the range between the dust sublimation radius of \sim0.13 AU (predicted for a dust sublimation temperature of 1500 K and gray dust) and the prediction of models including backwarming (\sim0.27 AU). We found that an additional extended halo component is required in both the geometric and temperature-gradient modeling. In the best temperature- gradient model, the disk consists of two components. The inner part of the disk is a thin ring with an inner radius of \sim0.21 AU, a temperature of \sim1600 K, and a ring thickness \sim0.02 AU. The outer part extends from \sim1 AU to \sim10 AU with an inner temperature of \sim400 K. We find that the disk is nearly face-on with an inclination angle of < 28 degree. Our temperature-gradient modeling suggests that the NIR excess is dominated by emission from a narrow, bright rim located at the dust sublimation radius, while an extended halo component contributes \sim6% to the total flux at 2 {\mu}m. The MIR model emission has a two-component structure with \sim20% flux from the inner ring and the rest from the outer part. This two-component structure suggests a disk gap, which is possibly caused by the shadow of a puffed-up inner rim.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted by A&

Study of the sub-AU disk of the Herbig B[e] star HD 85567 with near-infrared interferometry

articleContext. The structure of the inner disk of Herbig Be stars is not well understood. The continuum disks of several Herbig Be stars have inner radii that are smaller than predicted by models of irradiated disks with optically thin holes. Aims. We study the size of the inner disk of the Herbig B[e] star HD 85567 and compare the model radii with the radius suggested by the size–luminosity relation. Methods. The object was observed with the AMBER instrument of the Very Large Telescope Interferometer. We obtained K-band visibilities and closure phases. These measurements are interpreted with geometric models and temperature-gradient models. Results. Using several types of geometric star-disk and star-disk-halo models, we derived inner ring-fit radii in the K band that are in the range of 0.8–1.6 AU. Additional temperature-gradient modeling resulted in an extended disk with an inner radius of 0.67+0.51-0.21 AU, a high inner temperature of 2200+750-350 K, and a disk inclination of 53+15-11 °. Conclusions. The derived geometric ring-fit radii are approximately 3–5 times smaller than that predicted by the size–luminosity relation. The small geometric and temperature-gradient radii suggest optically thick gaseous material that absorbs stellar radiation inside the dust disk

Revealing the inclined circumstellar disk in the UX Orionis system KK Ophiuchi

This is the final version of the article. Available from EDP Sciences via the DOI in this record.Aims. We study the inner sub-AU region of the circumstellar environment of the UX Ori-type star KK Oph with near-infrared VLTI/AMBER interferometry. We are particularly interested in the inclination of the star-disk system, and we use this information to test the current standard picture for UX Ori stars. Methods. We recorded spectrally dispersed (R ~ 35) interferograms in the near-infrared H and K bands with the VLTI/AMBER instrument. The derived visibilities, closure phases, and the spectral energy distribution of KK Oph were compared with two-dimensional geometric and radiative transfer models (RADMC). Results. We obtained visibilities at four different position angles. Using two-dimensional geometric models, we derive an axis ratio ~3.0 corresponding to an inclination of ~70°. A fitted inclined ring model leads to a ring radius of 2.8 ± 0.2 mas, corresponding to 0.44 ± 0.03 AU at a distance of 160 pc, which is larger than the dust sublimation radius of ~0.1 AU predicted for a dust sublimation temperature of 1500 K. Our derived two-dimensional RADMC model consists of a circumstellar disk with an inclination angle of ~70° and an additional dust envelope. Conclusions. The finding of an ~70° inclined disk around KK Oph is consistent with the prediction that UX Ori objects are seen under large inclination angles, and orbiting clouds in the line of sight cause the observed variability. Furthermore, our results suggest that the orbit of the companion KK Oph B and the disk plane are coplanar.A. Kreplin was supported for this research through a stipend from the International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne. V.G. and L.T. were supported in part by the grant of the Presidium of RAS P 21 and grant NSh. – 1625.2012.2. They also thank the Max-Planck-Society for the support during their stay in Bonn. This research has made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Services

Tracing jet emission at the base of a high-mass YSO. First AMBER/VLTI observations of the Brγemission in IRAS 13481-6124

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.To probe the circumstellar environment of IRAS 13481-6124, a 20 M_sun high-mass young stellar object (HMYSO) with a parsec-scale jet and accretion disc, we investigate the origin of its Br\gamma-emission line through NIR interferometry. We present the first AMBER/VLTI observations of the Br\gamma-emitting region in an HMYSO at R~1500. Our AMBER/VLTI observations reveal a spatially and spectrally resolved Br\gamma-line in emission with a strong P Cygni profile, indicating outflowing matter with a terminal velocity of ~500 km/s. Visibilities, differential phases, and closure phases are detected in our observations within the spectral line and in the adjacent continuum. Both total visibilities (continuum plus line emitting region) and pure-line visibilities indicate that the Br\gamma-emitting region is more compact (2-4 mas in diameter or ~6-13 au at 3.2 kpc) than the continuum-emitting region (~5.4 mas or ~17 au). The absorption feature is also spatially resolved at the longest baselines (81 and 85 m) and has a visibility that is slightly smaller than the continuum-emitting region. The differential phases at the four longest baselines display an \u2018S\u2019-shaped structure across the line, peaking in the blue- and red-shifted high-velocity components. The calibrated photocentre shifts are aligned with the known jet axis, i.e they are probably tracing an ionised jet. The high-velocity components (v_r~100-500 km/s) are located far from the source, whereas the low-velocity components (0-100 km/s) are observed to be closer, indicating a strong acceleration of the gas flow in the inner 10 au. Finally, a non-zero closure phase along the continuum is detected. By comparing our observations with the synthetic images of the continuum around 2.16 um, we confirm that this feature originates from the asymmetric brightness distribution of the continuum owing to the inclination of the inner disc.A.C.G., R.G.L., and T.P.R. were supported by Science Foundation Ireland, grant 13/ERC/I2907. A.K. and S.K. acknowledge support from a STFC Ernest Rutherford fellowship and grant (ST/J004030/1, ST/K003445/1), and Marie-Sklodowska Curie CIG grant (Ref. 618910). A.S. was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) Priority Program 1573. This research has also made use of NASA’s Astrophysics Data System Bibliographic Services and the SIMBAD database operated at the CDS, Strasbourg, France

A high-mass protobinary system with spatially resolved circumstellar accretion disks and circumbinary disk

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from American Astronomical Society via the DOI in this record.High-mass multiples might form via fragmentation of self-gravitational disks or alternative scenarios such as disk-assisted capture. However, only few observational constraints exist on the architecture and disk structure of high-mass protobinaries and their accretion properties. Here we report the discovery of a close (57.9 ± 0.2mas=170au) high-mass protobinary, IRAS17216-3801, where our VLTI/GRAVITY+AMBER near-infrared interferometry allows us to image the circumstellar disks around the individual components with 3milliarcsecond resolution. We estimate the component masses to 20 and 18M⊙ and find that the radial intensity profiles can be reproduced with an irradiated disk model, where the inner regions are excavated of dust, likely tracing the dust sublimation region in these disks. The circumstellar disks are strongly misaligned with respect to the binary separation vector, which indicates that the tidal forces did not have time to realign the disks, pointing towards a young dynamical age of the system. We constrain the distribution of the Br and CO-emitting gas using VLTI/GRAVITY spectro-interferometry and VLT/CRIRES spectro-astrometry and find that the secondary is accreting at a higher rate than the primary. VLT/NACO imaging shows L′-band emission on 3 − 4× larger scales than the binary separation, matching the expected dynamical truncation radius for the circumbinary disk. The IRAS17216-3801 system is 3× more massive and 5× more compact than other high-mass multiplies imaged at infrared wavelengths and the first high-mass protobinary system where circumstellar and circumbinary dust disks could be spatially resolved. This opens exciting new opportunities for studying star-disk interactions and the role of multiplicity in high-mass star formation.We thank the GRAVITY consortium and the Science Verification team, which is composed of ESO employees and GRAVITY consortium members (https://www.eso.org/sci/activities/vltsv/gravitysv.html). We acknowledge support from an STFC Rutherford fellowship/grant (ST/J004030/1, ST/K003445/1), Marie Sklodowska-Curie CIG grant (#618910), Philip Leverhulme prize (PLP-2013-110), and ERC Starting grant (Grant Agreement #639889)

VLTI/AMBER observations of the Seyfert nucleus of NGC 3783

Context. The putative tori surrounding the accretion disks of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) play a fundamental role in the unification scheme of AGNs. Infrared long-baseline interferometry allows us to study the inner dust distribution in AGNs with unprecedented spatial resolution over a wide infrared wavelength range. Aims. Near- and mid-infrared interferometry is used to investigate the milli-arcsecond-scale dust distribution in the type 1.5 Seyfert nucleus of NGC 3783. Methods. We observed NGC 3783 with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in the K-band and compared our observations with models. Results. From the K-band observations, we derive a ring-fit torus radius of 0.74 +/- 0.23 mas or 0.16 +/- 0.05 pc. We compare this size with infrared interferometric observations of other AGNs and UV/optical-infrared reverberation measurements. For the interpretation of our observations, we simultaneously model our near- and mid-infrared visibilities and the SED with a temperature/density-gradient model including an additional inner hot 1400 K ring component