S. Ragland, K. Ohnaka, L. Hillenbrand, S. T. Ridgway, M. M. Colavita, R. L. Akeson, W. Cotton, W. C. Danchi, M. Hrynevych, R. Millan-Gabet, W. A. Traub
We present the first N-band nulling plus K- and L-band V2 observations of a
young stellar object, MWC325, taken with the 85 m baseline Keck Interferometer.
The Keck nuller was designed for the study of faint dust signatures associated
with debris disks, but it also has a unique capability for studying the
temperature and density distribution of denser disks found around young stellar
objects. Interferometric observations of MWC 325 at K, L and N encompass a
factor of five in spectral range and thus, especially when spectrally dispersed
within each band, enable characterization of the structure of the inner disk
regions where planets form. Fitting our observations with geometric models such
as a uniform disk or a Gaussian disk show that the apparent size increases
monotonically with wavelength in the 2-12 um wavelength region, confirming the
widely held assumption based on radiative transfer models, now with spatially
resolved measurements over broad wavelength range, that disks are extended with
a temperature gradient. The effective size is a factor of about 1.3 and 2
larger in the L-band and N-band, respectively, compared to that in the K-band.
The existing interferometric measurements and the spectral energy distribution
can be reproduced by a flat disk or a weakly-shadowed nearly flat-disk model,
with only slight flaring in the outer regions of the disk, consisting of
representative "sub-micron" (0.1 um) and "micron" (2 um) grains of a 50:50
ratio of silicate and graphite. This is marked contrast with the disks
previously found in other Herbig Ae/Be stars suggesting a wide variety in the
disk properties among Herbig Ae/Be stars.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1111.1813
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