UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS

Espaillat, C; D'Alessio, P; Hernandez, J; Nagel, E; Luhman, K L; Watson, D M; Calvet, N; McClure, M; Muzerolle, J

doi:10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441

Title: UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS

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Abstract

In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are relatively 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 based on near-infrared photometry and mid-infrared spectra; 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. However, in this work we use detailed disk models to fit the excess continua as opposed to the simple blackbody fits previously used. We show that the near-infrared excess emission of the previously identified pre-transitional disks of LkCa 15 and UX Tau A in the Taurus cloud as well as the newly identified pre-transitional disk of ROX 44 in Ophiuchus can be fit with an innermore »« less

Authors:

Espaillat, C ^[1]; D'Alessio, P ^[2]; Hernandez, J ^[3]; Nagel, E ^[4]; Luhman, K L ^[5]; Watson, D M ^[6]; Calvet, N; McClure, M ^[7]; Muzerolle, J ^[8]

Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS-78, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
Centro de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico 58089 (Mexico)
Centro de Investigaciones de Astronomia (CIDA), Merida, 5101-A (Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of)
Departamento de Astronomia, Universidad de Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Gto, Mexico 36240 (Mexico)
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, NY 14627-0171 (United States)
Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, 830 Dennison Building, 500 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 (United States)
Space Telescope Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

Publication Date:: Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010

OSTI Identifier:: 21452863

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: Astrophysical Journal

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 717; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441; Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; ACCRETION DISKS; ASTROPHYSICS; DUSTS; EMISSION; ENERGY SPECTRA; INFRARED SPECTRA; PHOTOMETRY; PHOTOSPHERE; PROTOPLANETS; STARS; ATMOSPHERES; PHYSICS; SOLAR ATMOSPHERE; SPECTRA; STELLAR ATMOSPHERES

Citation Formats


                    Espaillat, C, D'Alessio, P, Hernandez, J, Nagel, E, Luhman, K L, Watson, D M, Calvet, N, McClure, M, and Muzerolle, J. UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS.  United States: N. p., 2010. 
        Web.  doi:10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441.

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                    Espaillat, C, D'Alessio, P, Hernandez, J, Nagel, E, Luhman, K L, Watson, D M, Calvet, N, McClure, M, & Muzerolle, J. UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441

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                    Espaillat, C, D'Alessio, P, Hernandez, J, Nagel, E, Luhman, K L, Watson, D M, Calvet, N, McClure, M, and Muzerolle, J. 2010.  
        "UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441.

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@article{osti_21452863,

  title        = {UNVEILING THE STRUCTURE OF PRE-TRANSITIONAL DISKS},

  author       = {Espaillat, C and D'Alessio, P and Hernandez, J and Nagel, E and Luhman, K L and Watson, D M and Calvet, N and McClure, M and Muzerolle, J},

  abstractNote = {In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are relatively 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 based on near-infrared photometry and mid-infrared spectra; 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. However, in this work we use detailed disk models to fit the excess continua as opposed to the simple blackbody fits previously used. We show that the near-infrared excess emission of the previously identified pre-transitional disks of LkCa 15 and UX Tau A in the Taurus cloud 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 present detailed modeling of the broadband spectral energy distributions of these objects, taking into account the effect of shadowing by the inner disk on the outer disk, but considering the finite size of the star, unlike other recent treatments. 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.},

  doi          = {10.1088/0004-637X/717/1/441},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21452863},
  journal      = {Astrophysical Journal},

  issn         = {0004-637X},

  number       = 1,

  volume       = 717,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010},

  month        = {Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 2010}

}

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