A Resolved Millimeter Emission Belt in the AU Mic Debris Disk
Abstract
We present imaging observations at 1.3 mm of the debris disk surrounding the nearby M-type flare star AU Mic with beam size 3'' (30 AU) from the Submillimeter Array. These data reveal a belt of thermal dust emission surrounding the star with the same edge-on geometry as the more extended scattered light disk detected at optical wavelengths. Simple modeling indicates a central radius of ~35 AU for the emission belt. This location is consistent with the reservoir of planetesimals previously invoked to explain the shape of the scattered light surface brightness profile through size-dependent dust dynamics. The identification of this belt further strengthens the kinship between the debris disks around AU Mic and its more massive sister star β Pic, members of the same ~10 Myr old moving group.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- April 2012
- DOI:
- 10.1088/2041-8205/749/2/L27
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1203.1896
- Bibcode:
- 2012ApJ...749L..27W
- Keywords:
-
- circumstellar matter;
- planet-disk interactions;
- stars: individual: AU Microscopii;
- submillimeter: planetary systems;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics;
- Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 10 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters