ALMA hints at the presence of two companions in the disk around HD 100546

Catherine Walsh, Attila Juhasz, Paola Pinilla, Daniel Harsono, Geoffrey S. Mathews, William R. F. Dent, Michiel R. Hogerheijde, T. Birnstiel, Gwendolyn Meeus, Hideko Nomura, Yuri Aikawa, T. J. Millar, Goran Sandell

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Abstract

HD 100546 is a well-studied Herbig Be star-disk system that likely hosts a close-in companion with compelling observational evidence for an embedded protoplanet at 68 AU. We present ALMA observations of the HD 100546 disk which resolve, for the first time, the gas and dust structure at (sub)mm wavelengths. The CO emission (at 345.795 GHz) originates from an extensive molecular disk (390 AU in radius) whereas the continuum emission is more compact (230 AU in radius) suggesting radial drift of the mm-sized grains. The CO emission is similar in extent to scattered light images indicating well-mixed gas and um-sized grains in the disk atmosphere. Assuming an azimuthally-symmetric disk, the continuum visibilities at long baselines (> 100 klambda) are reproduced by a compact ring with a width of 21 AU centered at 26 AU. An outer component is required to fit the short baselines: assuming a flat brightness distribution, the best-fit model is a ring with a width of 75 AU centered at 190 AU. The influence of a companion and protoplanet on the dust evolution is investigated. The companion at 10 AU facilitates the accumulation of mm-sized grains within a compact ring, ~20-30 AU, by ~10 Myr. The injection of a protoplanet at 1 Myr hastens the ring formation (~1.2 Myr) and also triggers the development of an outer ring (~100-200 AU). These observations provide additional evidence for the presence of a close-in companion and hint at dynamical clearing by a protoplanet at 68 AU.
Original languageEnglish
Article numberL6
Number of pages6
JournalAstrophysical Journal Letters
Volume791
Early online date28 Jul 2014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Aug 2014

Keywords

  • astro-ph.EP
  • astro-ph.SR

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