CARMA Millimeter-Wave Aperture Synthesis Imaging of the HD 32297 Debris Disk

TL;DR

This paper reports the first high-resolution millimeter-wave imaging of the HD 32297 debris disk, revealing asymmetries that suggest complex grain dynamics possibly influenced by an unseen exoplanet or recent planetesimal breakup.

Contribution

It provides the first sub-arcsecond resolution millimeter imaging of the HD 32297 debris disk and analyzes its asymmetries across multiple wavelengths to infer planetary or collisional influences.

Findings

Detected and mapped the debris disk at 1.3 mm with sub-arcsecond resolution.

Identified asymmetry in the disk suggestive of resonant trapping or recent breakup.

Supported the presence of multiple grain populations with spectral energy distribution modeling.

Abstract

We present the first detection and mapping of the HD 32297 debris disk at 1.3 mm with the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). With a sub-arcsecond beam, this detection represents the highest angular resolution (sub)mm debris disk observation made to date. Our model fits to the spectral energy distribution from the CARMA flux and new Spitzer MIPS photometry support the earlier suggestion that at least two, possibly three, distinct grain populations are traced by the current data. The observed millimeter map shows an asymmetry between the northeast and southwest disk lobes, suggesting large grains may be trapped in resonance with an unseen exoplanet. Alternatively, the observed morphology could result from the recent breakup of a massive planetesimal. A similar-scale asymmetry is also observed in scattered light but not in the mid-infrared. This contrast between asymmetry at short and long wavelengths and symmetry at intermediate wavelengths is in qualitative agreement with predictions of resonant debris disk models. With resolved observations in several bands spanning over three decades in wavelength, HD 32297 provides a unique testbed for theories of grain and planetary dynamics, and could potentially provide strong multi-wavelength evidence for an exoplanetary system.