The circumstellar disc in the Bok globule CB 26: Multi-wavelength observations and modelling of the dust disc and envelope

TL;DR

This study models the circumstellar disc and envelope of CB 26 using multi-wavelength observations, revealing a large inner hole and suggesting limited grain growth, which informs early planet formation understanding.

Contribution

It provides a detailed radiative transfer model of CB 26's disc and envelope, including new observational data and insights into dust properties and disc structure.

Findings

Disc has an inner hole of about 45 AU.

Maximum grain size in the disc is approximately 2.5 microns.

Features suggest a rotating envelope with minimal grain growth.

Abstract

Circumstellar discs are expected to be the nursery of planets. Grain growth within such discs is the first step in the planet formation process. The Bok globule CB 26 harbours such a young disc. We present a detailed model of the edge-on circumstellar disc and its envelope in the Bok globule CB 26. The model is based on HST near-infrared maps in the I, J, H, and K bands, OVRO and SMA radio maps at 1.1mm, 1.3mm and 2.7mm, and the spectral energy distribution (SED) from 0.9 microns to 3mm. New photometric and spectroscopic data from the Spitzer Space Telescope and the Caltech Submilimeter Observatory have been obtained and are part of our analysis. Using the self-consistent radiative transfer code MC3D, the model we construct is able to discriminate parameter sets and dust properties of both its parts, namely envelope and disc. We find that the disc has an inner hole with a radius of 45 +/- 5 AU. Based on a dust model including silicate and graphite the maximum grain size needed to reproduce the spectral millimetre index is 2.5 microns. Features seen in the near-infrared images, dominated by scattered light, can be described as a result of a rotating envelope. Successful employment of ISM dust in both the disc and envelope hint that grain growth may not yet play a significant role for the appearance of this system. A larger inner hole gives rise to the assumption that CB 26 is a circumbinary disc.