NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
High-Contrast Near-Infrared Imaging Polarimetry of the Protoplanetary Disk around RY TauWe present near-infrared coronagraphic imaging polarimetry of RY Tau. The scattered light in the circumstellar environment was imaged at H-band at a high resolution (approx. 0.05) for the first time, using Subaru-HiCIAO. The observed polarized intensity (PI) distribution shows a butterfly-like distribution of bright emission with an angular scale similar to the disk observed at millimeter wavelengths. This distribution is offset toward the blueshifted jet, indicating the presence of a geometrically thick disk or a remnant envelope, and therefore the earliest stage of the Class II evolutionary phase. We perform comparisons between the observed PI distribution and disk models with: (1) full radiative transfer code, using the spectral energy distribution (SED) to constrain the disk parameters; and (2) monochromatic simulations of scattered light which explore a wide range of parameters space to constrain the disk and dust parameters. We show that these models cannot consistently explain the observed PI distribution, SED, and the viewing angle inferred by millimeter interferometry. We suggest that the scattered light in the near-infrared is associated with an optically thin and geometrically thick layer above the disk surface, with the surface responsible for the infrared SED. Half of the scattered light and thermal radiation in this layer illuminates the disk surface, and this process may significantly affect the thermal structure of the disk.
Document ID
20140009249
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Takami, Michihiro
(Academia Sinica Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China)
Karr, Jennifer L.
(Academia Sinica Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China)
Hashimoto, Jun
(Tokyo Astronomical Observatory Mitaka, Japan)
Kim, Hyosun
(Academia Sinica Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China)
Wisenewski, John
(Oklahoma Univ. Norman, OK, United States)
Henning, Thomas
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Astronomie Heidelberg, Germany)
Grady, Carol
(Eureka Scientific, Inc. Oakland, CA, United States)
Kandori, Ryo
(Tokyo Astronomical Observatory Mitaka, Japan)
Hodapp, Klaus W.
(Hawaii Univ. Hilo, HI, United States)
Kudo, Tomoyuki
(Subaru Telescope Hilo, HI, United States)
Kusakabe, Nobuhiko
(Tokyo Astronomical Observatory Mitaka, Japan)
Chou, Mei-yin
(Academia Sinica Taipei, Taiwan, Province of China)
Itoh, Yoichi
(Hyogo Univ. Hyogo, Japan)
Momose, Mumetake
(Ibaraki Univ. Mito, Japan)
Mayama, Satoshi
(Graduate Univ. for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI) Kanagawa, Japan)
Currie, Thayne
(Toronto Univ. Ontario, Canada)
Follette, Katherine B.
(Arizona Univ. Tucson, AZ, United States)
Kwon, Jungmi
(Tokyo Astronomical Observatory Mitaka, Japan)
Abe, Lyu
(Observatoire de la Cote d'Azur Nice, France)
Brandner, Wolfgang
(Max-Planck-Inst. fuer Astronomie Heidelberg, Germany)
Brandt, Timothy D.
(Princeton Univ. NJ, United States)
Carson, Joseph
(Charleston Coll. Charleston, SC, United States)
Egner, Sebastian E.
(Subaru Telescope Hilo, HI, United States)
McElwain, Michael W.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Serabyn, Eugene
(Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Tech. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Date Acquired
July 16, 2014
Publication Date
June 8, 2013
Publication Information
Publisher: Astrophysical Journal
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN9906
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG12PP44P
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
Keywords
protoplanetary disks
polarization
pre-main sequence
No Preview Available