CONSTRAINING THE MOVEMENT OF THE SPIRAL FEATURES AND THE LOCATIONS OF PLANETARY BODIES WITHIN THE AB AUR SYSTEM

• We present a new analysis of multi-epoch, H-band, scattered light images of the AB Aur system. We use a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to simultaneously model the system's spectral energy distribution (SED) and H-band polarized intensity (PI) imagery. We find that a disk-dominated model, as opposed to one that is envelope-dominated, can plausibly reproduce AB Aur's SED and near-IR imagery. This is consistent with previous modeling attempts presented in the literature and supports the idea that at least a subset of AB Aur's spirals originate within the disk. In light of this, we also analyzed the movement of spiral structures in multi-epoch H-band total light and PI imagery of the disk. We detect no significant rotation or change in spatial location of the spiral structures in these data, which span a 5.8-year baseline. If such structures are caused by disk-planet interactions, the lack of observed rotation constrains the location of the orbit of planetary perturbers to be >47 au.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Fysik -- Astronomi, astrofysik och kosmologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Physical Sciences -- Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

planet-disk interactions

planetary systems

protoplanetary disks

radiative transfer

stars: individual (AB Aur)

stars: pre-main sequence

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)