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Kuiper belts around nearby stars
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy.
Stockholm University, Faculty of Science, Department of Astronomy.
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2010 (English)In: Astronomy and Astrophysics, ISSN 0004-6361, E-ISSN 1432-0746, Vol. 518, p. A40-Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

Context. The existence of dusty debris disks around a large fraction of solar type main-sequence stars, inferred from excess far-IR and submillimetre emission compared to that expected from stellar photospheres, suggests that leftover planetesimal belts analogous to the asteroid-and comet reservoirs of the solar system are common.

Aims. Sensitive submillimetre observations are essential to detect and characterise cold extended dust originating from collisions of small bodies in disks, belts, or rings at Kuiper-belt distances (30-50 AU or beyond). Measurements of the flux densities at these wavelengths will extend existing IR photometry and permit more detailed modelling of the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the disks spectral energy distribution (SED), effectively constraining dust properties and disk extensions. By observing stars spanning from a few up to several hundred Myr, the evolution of debris disks during crucial phases of planet formation can be studied.

Methods. We observed 22 exo-Kuiper-belt candidates at 870 mu m, as part of a large programme with the LABOCA bolometer at the APEX telescope. Dust masses (or upper limits) were calculated from integrated 870 mu m fluxes, and fits to the SED of detected sources revealed the fractional dust luminosities f(dust), dust temperatures T(dust), and power-law exponents beta of the opacity law.

Results. A total of 10 detections with at least 3 sigma significance were made, out of which five (HD95086, HD131835, HD161868, HD170773, and HD207129) have previously never been detected at submillimetre wavelengths. Three additional sources are marginally detected with > 2.5 sigma significance. The best-fit beta parameters all lie between 0.1 and 0.8, in agreement with previous results indicating the presence of significantly larger grains than those in the ISM. From our relatively small sample we estimate f(dust) proportional to t(-alpha), with a similar to 0.8-2.0, and identify an evolution of the characteristic radial dust distance R(dust) that is consistent with the t(1/3) increase predicted from models of self-stirred collisions in debris disks.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2010. Vol. 518, p. A40-
Keywords [en]
circumstellar matter, planetary systems, planet formation, Kuiper belt, submillimeter observations
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Research subject
Astronomy
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:su:diva-74265DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/201014444ISI: 000285342500058OAI: oai:DiVA.org:su-74265DiVA, id: diva2:507366
Note
authorCount :13Available from: 2012-03-09 Created: 2012-03-04 Last updated: 2022-02-24Bibliographically approved
In thesis
1. Circumstellar Debris Disks: Observational Studies of Cold Dust and Gas Emission in Planetary Nurseries
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Circumstellar Debris Disks: Observational Studies of Cold Dust and Gas Emission in Planetary Nurseries
2012 (English)Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary (Other academic)
Abstract [en]

Planetary systems form in disks of gas and dust surrounding newborn stars. The young circumstellar environment is characterized by frequent collisions between rocky bodies, leading to a continuous production of small dust grains. Such collisional processing persists in leftover debris disks or belts akin to the Solar System's asteroid and Kuiper belts, during the star's entire main-sequence lifetime. This thesis presents observations of thermal emission from cold dust in extended debris disks, in addition to spatially resolved observations of dust scattered light and gas emission in nearby debris disk systems. A total of 30 debris disk candidates identified from infrared excess were observed at submillimeter (submm) wavelengths with the Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment (APEX) telescope in search for dust at radial distances corresponding to the Kuiper belt or beyond. Two observing campaigns with the PolCor instrument at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), performing optical polarimetric coronagraphy to resolve scattered light from nearby disks were also carried out. The edge-on debris disk surrounding the star β Pictoris was explored using integral-field spectroscopy with the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in an attempt to map the spatial distribution of previously detected gas. The APEX observations detected 14 exo-Kuiper belts, out of which 7 were new discoveries in the submm region. Modeling of the spectral energy distribution from available photometry and detected submm fluxes allowed us to study the dependence of the fractional dust luminosity and characteristic radial dust distance on stellar spectral type and age. The results indicate a decrease in fractional dust luminosity as t-α, where t is the age of the system and α = 0.8–2.0. From the VLT data we retrieved the first complete image of Ca II and Fe I emission in the disk of β Pictoris. Subsequent modeling demonstrated that the anomalous vertical structure of the observed Ca II emission can be explained by an optically thick disk midplane.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Stockholm: Department of Astronomy, Stockholm University, 2012. p. 84
Keywords
circumstellar disks, debris disks, Kuiper belts, planet formation, submillimeter imaging, photometry, coronagraphy, integral-field spectroscopy
National Category
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Research subject
Astronomy
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:su:diva-74460 (URN)978-91-7447-470-1 (ISBN)
Public defence
2012-04-20, FB52, AlbaNova universitetscentrum, Roslagstullsbacken 21, Stockholm, 10:00 (English)
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Supervisors
Note
At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Submitted. Paper 5: Submitted.Available from: 2012-03-29 Created: 2012-03-13 Last updated: 2022-02-24Bibliographically approved

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