| 1. |
- Liseau, René, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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Resolving the cold debris disc around a planet-hosting star. PACS photometric imaging observations of q1 Eridani (HD 10647, HR 506)
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518:Article Number: L132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. About two dozen exo-solar debris systems have been spatially resolved. These debris discs commonly display a variety of structural features such as clumps, rings, belts, excentric distributions and spiral patterns. In most cases, these features are believed to be formed, shaped and maintained by the dynamical influence of planets orbiting the host stars. In very few cases has the presence of the dynamically important planet(s) been inferred from direct observation. Aims. The solar-type star q(1) Eri is known to be surrounded by debris, extended on scales of less than or similar to 30 ''. The star is also known to host at least one planet, albeit on an orbit far too small to make it responsible for structures at distances of tens to hundreds of AU. The aim of the present investigation is twofold: to determine the optical and material properties of the debris and to infer the spatial distribution of the dust, which may hint at the presence of additional planets. Methods. The Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) aboard the Herschel Space Observatory allows imaging observations in the far infrared at unprecedented resolution, i.e. at better than 6 '' to 12 '' over the wavelength range of 60 mu m to 210 mu m. Together with the results from ground-based observations, these spatially resolved data can be modelled to determine the nature of the debris and its evolution more reliably than what would be possible from unresolved data alone. Results. For the first time has the q(1) Eri disc been resolved at far infrared wavelengths. The PACS observations at 70 mu m, 100 mu m and 160 mu m reveal an oval image showing a disc-like structure in all bands, the size of which increases with wavelength. Assuming a circular shape yields the inclination of its equatorial plane with respect to that of the sky, i > 53 degrees. The results of image de-convolution indicate that i likely is larger than 63 degrees, where 90 degrees corresponds to an edge-on disc. Conclusions. The observed emission is thermal and optically thin. The resolved data are consistent with debris at temperatures below 30 K at radii larger than 120 AU. From image de-convolution, we find that q(1) Eri is surrounded by an about 40 AU wide ring at the radial distance of similar to 85 AU. This is the first real Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt analogue ever observed.
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| 2. |
- Eiroa, C., et al.
(författare)
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Cold DUst around NEarby Stars (DUNES). First results A resolved exo-Kuiper belt around the solar-like star zeta(2) Ret
- 2010
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 518, s. L131-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present the first far-IR observations of the solar-type stars delta Pav, HR 8501, 51 Peg and zeta(2) Ret, taken within the context of the DUNES Herschel open time key programme (OTKP). This project uses the PACS and SPIRE instruments with the objective of studying infrared excesses due to exo-Kuiper belts around nearby solar-type stars. The observed 100 mu m fluxes from delta Pav, HR 8501, and 51 Peg agree with the predicted photospheric fluxes, excluding debris disks brighter than L-dust/L-star similar to 5 x 10(-7) (1 sigma level) around those stars. A flattened, disk-like structure with a semi-major axis of similar to 100 AU in size is detected around zeta(2) Ret. The resolved structure suggests the presence of an eccentric dust ring, which we interpret as an exo-Kuiper belt with L-dust/L-star approximate to 10(-5).
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| 3. |
- Eiroa, C., et al.
(författare)
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DUst around NEarby Stars. The survey observational results
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 555, s. A11-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Debris discs are a consequence of the planet formation process and constitute the fingerprints of planetesimal systems. Their solar system counterparts are the asteroid and Edgeworth-Kuiper belts. Aims. The DUNES survey aims at detecting extra-solar analogues to the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt around solar-type stars, putting in this way the solar system into context. The survey allows us to address some questions related to the prevalence and properties of planetesimal systems. Methods. We used Herschel/PACS to observe a sample of nearby FGK stars. Data at 100 and 160 mu m were obtained, complemented in some cases with observations at 70 mu m, and at 250, 350 and 500 mu m using SPIRE. The observing strategy was to integrate as deep as possible at 100 mu m to detect the stellar photosphere. Results. Debris discs have been detected at a fractional luminosity level down to several times that of the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt. The incidence rate of discs around the DUNES stars is increased from a rate of similar to 12.1% +/- 5% before Herschel to similar to 20.2% +/- 2%. A significant fraction (similar to 52%) of the discs are resolved, which represents an enormous step ahead from the previously known resolved discs. Some stars are associated with faint far-IR excesses attributed to a new class of cold discs. Although it cannot be excluded that these excesses are produced by coincidental alignment of background galaxies, statistical arguments suggest that at least some of them are true debris discs. Some discs display peculiar SEDs with spectral indexes in the 70-160 mu m range steeper than the Rayleigh-Jeans one. An analysis of the debris disc parameters suggests that a decrease might exist of the mean black body radius from the F-type to the K-type stars. In addition, a weak trend is suggested for a correlation of disc sizes and an anticorrelation of disc temperatures with the stellar age.
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| 4. |
- Marshall, J. P., et al.
(författare)
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A Herschel resolved far-infrared dust ring around HD 207129
- 2011
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 529
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Dusty debris discs around main sequence stars are thought to be the result of continuous collisional grinding of planetesimals in the system. The majority of these systems are unresolved and analysis of the dust properties is limited by the lack of information regarding the dust location. Aims. The Herschel DUNES key program is observing 133 nearby, Sun-like stars (
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| 5. |
- Eiroa, C., et al.
(författare)
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Herschel discovery of a new class of cold, faint debris discs
- 2011
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 536
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present Herschel PACS 100 and 160 mu m observations of the solar-type stars alpha Men, HD 88230 and HD 210277, which form part of the FGK stars sample of the Herschel open time key programme (OTKP) DUNES (DUst around NEarby S tars). Our observations show small infrared excesses at 160 mu m for all three stars. HD 210277 also shows a small excess at 100 mu m, while the 100 mu m fluxes of alpha Men and HD 88230 agree with the stellar photospheric predictions. We attribute these infrared excesses to a new class of cold, faint debris discs. Both alpha Men and HD 88230 are spatially resolved in the PACS 160 mu m images, while HD 210277 is point-like at that wavelength. The projected linear sizes of the extended emission lie in the range from similar to 115 to
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| 6. |
- Ertel, S., et al.
(författare)
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Potential multi-component structure of the debris disk around HIP 17439 revealed by Herschel/DUNES
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 561, s. Article no. A114-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. The dust observed in debris disks is produced through collisions of larger bodies left over from the planet/planetesimal formation process. Spatially resolving these disks permits to constrain their architecture and thus that of the underlying planetary/planetesimal system. Aims. Our Herschel open time key program DUNES aims at detecting and characterizing debris disks around nearby, sun-like stars. In addition to the statistical analysis of the data, the detailed study of single objects through spatially resolving the disk and detailed modeling of the data is a main goal of the project. Methods. We obtained the first observations spatially resolving the debris disk around the sun-like star HIP 17439 (HD23484) using the instruments PACS and SPIRE on board the Herschel Space Observatory. Simultaneous multi-wavelength modeling of these data together with ancillary data from the literature is presented. Results. A standard single component disk model fails to reproduce the major axis radial profiles at 70 mu m, 100 mu m, and 160 mu m simultaneously. Moreover, the best-fit parameters derived from such a model suggest a very broad disk extending from few au up to few hundreds of au from the star with a nearly constant surface density which seems physically unlikely. However, the constraints from both the data and our limited theoretical investigation are not strong enough to completely rule out this model. An alternative, more plausible, and better fitting model of the system consists of two rings of dust at approx. 30 au and 90 au, respectively, while the constraints on the parameters of this model are weak due to its complexity and intrinsic degeneracies. Conclusions. The disk is probably composed of at least two components with different spatial locations (but not necessarily detached), while a single, broad disk is possible, but less likely. The two spatially well-separated rings of dust in our best-fit model suggest the presence of at least one high mass planet or several low-mass planets clearing the region between the two rings from planetesimals and dust.
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| 7. |
- Krivov, A., et al.
(författare)
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HERSCHEL's "COLD DEBRIS DISKS": BACKGROUND GALAXIES OR QUIESCENT RIMS OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS?
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astrophysical Journal. - : American Astronomical Society. - 1538-4357 .- 0004-637X. ; 772:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Infrared excesses associated with debris disk host stars detected so far peak at wavelengths around similar to 100 mu m or shorter. However, 6 out of 31 excess sources studied in the Herschel Open Time Key Programme, DUNES, have been seen to show significant-and in some cases extended-excess emission at 160 mu m, which is larger than the 100 mu m excess. This excess emission has been attributed to circumstellar dust and has been suggested to stem from debris disks colder than those known previously. Since the excess emission of the cold disk candidates is extremely weak, challenging even the unrivaled sensitivity of Herschel, it is prudent to carefully consider whether some or even all of them may represent unrelated galactic or extragalactic emission, or even instrumental noise. We re-address these issues using several distinct methods and conclude that it is highly unlikely that none of the candidates represents a true circumstellar disk. For true disks, both the dust temperatures inferred from the spectral energy distributions and the disk radii estimated from the images suggest that the dust is nearly as cold as a blackbody. This requires the grains to be larger than similar to 100 mu m, even if they are rich in ices or are composed of any other material with a low absorption in the visible. The dearth of small grains is puzzling, since collisional models of debris disks predict that grains of all sizes down to several times the radiation pressure blowout limit should be present. We explore several conceivable scenarios: transport-dominated disks, disks of low dynamical excitation, and disks of unstirred primordial macroscopic grains. Our qualitative analysis and collisional simulations rule out the first two of these scenarios, but show the feasibility of the third one. We show that such disks can indeed survive for gigayears, largely preserving the primordial size distribution. They should be composed of macroscopic solids larger than millimeters, but smaller than a few kilometers in size. If larger planetesimals were present, then they would stir the disk, triggering a collisional cascade and thus causing production of small debris, which is not seen. Thus, planetesimal formation, at least in the outer regions of the systems, has stopped before "cometary" or "asteroidal" sizes were reached.
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| 8. |
- Liseau, René, 1949, et al.
(författare)
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alpha Centauri A in the far infrared - First measurement of the temperature minimum of a star other than the Sun
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 549
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Chromospheres and coronae are common phenomena on solar-type stars. Understanding the energy transfer to these heated atmospheric layers requires direct access to the relevant empirical data. Study of these structures has, by and large, been limited to the Sun thus far.Aims. The region of the temperature reversal can be directly observed only in the far infrared and submillimetre spectral regime. We aim at determining the characteristics of the atmosphere in the region of the temperature minimum of the solar sister star alpha Cen A. As a bonus this will also provide a detailed mapping of the spectral energy distribution, i.e. knowledge that is crucial when searching for faint, Kuiper belt-like dust emission around other stars.Methods. For the nearby binary system alpha Cen, stellar parameters are known with high accuracy from measurements. For the basic model parameters T-eff, log g and [Fe/H], we interpolate stellar model atmospheres in the grid of Gaia/PHOENIX and compute the corresponding model for the G2 V star alpha Cen A. Comparison with photometric measurements shows excellent agreement between observed photospheric data in the optical and infrared. For longer wavelengths, the modelled spectral energy distribution is compared to Spitzer-MIPS, Herschel-PACS, Herschel-SPIRE, and APEX-LABOCA photometry. A specifically tailored Uppsala model based on the MARCS code and extending further in wavelength is used to gauge the emission characteristics of alpha Cen A in the far infared.Results. Similar to the Sun, the far infrared (FIR) emission of alpha Cen A originates in the minimum temperature region above the stellar photosphere in the visible. However, in comparison with the solar case, the FIR photosphere of alpha Cen A appears marginally cooler, T-min similar to T-160 (mu m) = 3920 +/- 375 K. Beyond the minimum near 160 mu m, the brightness temperatures increase, and this radiation very likely originates in warmer regions of the chromosphere of alpha Cen A.Conclusions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a temperature minimum has been directly measured on a main-sequence star other than the Sun.
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| 9. |
- Marshall, J. P., et al.
(författare)
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Herschel observations of the debris disc around HIP 92043
- 2013
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 557
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Typical debris discs are composed of particles ranging from several micron sized dust grains to km sized asteroidal bodies, and their infrared emission peaks at wavelengths 60-100 mu m. Recent Herschel DUNES observations have identified several debris discs around nearby Sun-like stars (F, G and K spectral type) with significant excess emission only at 160 mu m.Aims. We observed HIP 92043 (110 Her, HD 173667) at far-infrared and sub-millimetre wavelengths with Herschel PACS and SPIRE. Identification of the presence of excess emission from HIP 92043 and the origin and physical properties of any excess was undertaken through analysis of its spectral energy distribution (SED) and the PACS images.Methods. The PACS and SPIRE images were produced using the HIPE photProject map maker routine. Fluxes were measured using aperture photometry. A stellar photosphere model was scaled to optical and near infrared photometry and subtracted from the far-infared and sub-mm fluxes to determine the presence of excess emission. Source radial profiles were fitted using a 2D Gaussian and compared to a PSF model based on Herschel observations of alpha Boo to check for extended emission.Results. Clear excess emission from HIP 92043 was observed at 70 and 100 mu m. Marginal excess was observed at 160 and 250 mu m. Analysis of the images reveals that the source is extended at 160 mu m. A fit to the source SED is inconsistent with a photosphere and single temperature black body.Conclusions. The excess emission from HIP 92043 is consistent with the presence of an unresolved circumstellar debris disc at 70 and 100 mu m, with low probability of background contamination. The extended 160 mu m emission may be interpreted as an additional cold component to the debris disc or as the result of background contamination along the line of sight. The nature of the 160 mu m excess cannot be determined absolutely from the available data, but we favour a debris disc interpretation, drawing parallels with previously identified cold disc sources in the DUNES sample.
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| 10. |
- Wiegert, Joachim, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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How dusty is alpha Centauri? : Excess or non-excess over the infrared photospheres of main-sequence stars
- 2014
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Ingår i: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 563, s. A102-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Context. Debris discs around main-sequence stars indicate the presence of larger rocky bodies. The components of the nearby, solar-type binary alpha Centauri have metallicities that are higher than solar, which is thought to promote giant planet formation. Aims. We aim to determine the level of emission from debris around the stars in the alpha Cen system. This requires knowledge of their photospheres. Having already detected the temperature minimum, T-min, of alpha Cen A at far-infrared wavelengths, we here attempt to do the same for the more active companion alpha Cen B. Using the alpha Cen stars as templates, we study the possible effects that T-min may have on the detectability of unresolved dust discs around other stars. Methods. We used Herschel-PACS, Herschel-SPIRE, and APEX-LABOCA photometry to determine the stellar spectral energy distributions in the far infrared and submillimetre. In addition, we used APEX-SHeFI observations for spectral line mapping to study the complex background around alpha Cen seen in the photometric images. Models of stellar atmospheres and of particulate discs, based on particle simulations and in conjunction with radiative transfer calculations, were used to estimate the amount of debris around these stars. Results. For solar-type stars more distant than alpha Cen, a fractional dust luminosity f(d) equivalent to L-dust/L-star similar to 2 x 10(-7) could account for SEDs that do not exhibit the T-min effect. This is comparable to estimates of f(d) for the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt of the solar system. In contrast to the far infrared, slight excesses at the 2.5 sigma level are observed at 24 mu m for both alpha Cen A and B, which, if interpreted as due to zodiacal-type dust emission, would correspond to f(d) similar to (1-3) x 10(-5), i.e. some 10(2) times that of the local zodiacal cloud. Assuming simple power-law size distributions of the dust grains, dynamical disc modelling leads to rough mass estimates of the putative Zodi belts around the alpha Cen stars, viz. less than or similar to 4 x 10(-6) M-(sic) of 4 to 1000 mu m size grains, distributed according to n(a) proportional to a(-3.5). Similarly, for filled-in T-min emission, corresponding Edgeworth-Kuiper belts could account for similar to 10(-3) M-(sic) of dust. Conclusions. Our far-infrared observations lead to estimates of upper limits to the amount of circumstellar dust around the stars alpha Cen A and B. Light scattered and/or thermally emitted by exo-Zodi discs will have profound implications for future spectroscopic missions designed to search for biomarkers in the atmospheres of Earth-like planets. The far-infrared spectral energy distribution of alpha Cen B is marginally consistent with the presence of a minimum temperature region in the upper atmosphere of the star. We also show that an alpha Cen A-like temperature minimum may result in an erroneous apprehension about the presence of dust around other, more distant stars.
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