Anatomy of a flaring proto-planetary disk around a young intermediate-mass star.
Although planets are being discovered around stars more massive than the Sun, information about the proto-planetary disks where such planets have built up is sparse. We have imaged mid-infrared emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at the surface of the disk surrounding the young intermediate-mass star HD 97048 and characterized the disk. The disk is in an early stage of evolution, as indicated by its large content of dust and its hydrostatic flared geometry, indicative of the presence of a large amount of gas that is well mixed with dust and gravitationally stable. The disk is a precursor of debris disks found around more-evolved A stars such as beta-Pictoris and provides the rare opportunity to witness the conditions prevailing before (or during) planet formation.
Lagage
Pierre-Olivier
PO
Unité Mixte de Recherche No 7158, Direction des Sciences de la Matière (DSM)/Laboratoire de recherches sur les lois fondamentales de l'Univers (DAPNIA)/Service d'Astrophysique, CEA Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France. Pierre-Olivier.Lagage@cea.fr
Doucet
Coralie
C
Pantin
Eric
E
Habart
Emilie
E
Duchêne
Gaspard
G
Ménard
François
F
Pinte
Christophe
C
Charnoz
Sébastien
S
Pel
Jan-Willem
JW
D055580:Astronomical Phenomena; D001256:Astronomy; D019419:Evolution, Planetary; D016083:Planets; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D013057:Spectrum Analysis
D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons