Spatially resolved submm imaging of the HR 8799 debris disk

TL;DR

This study presents the first spatially resolved submillimeter imaging of the HR 8799 debris disk at 350μm, revealing a Kuiper belt-like structure with potential asymmetries influenced by planetary interactions.

Contribution

It provides the first spatially resolved submm image of the HR 8799 debris disk and explores possible asymmetries caused by planet-disk interactions using radiative transfer and N-body simulations.

Findings

The debris disk extends from ~100-300 AU.

Indications of offset asymmetric emission.

Disk structure consistent with a Kuiper belt.

Abstract

Dynamical interactions between planets and debris disks may sculpt the disk structure and impact planetary orbits, but only a few systems with both imaged planets and spatially resolved debris disks are known. With the Caltech Submm Observatory (CSO), we have observed the HR 8799 debris disk at 350{\mu}m. The 350{\mu}m map is the first spatially resolved measurement of the debris disk encircling the HR 8799 planetary system at this wavelength. Both the flux and size of the emission are consistent with a Kuiper belt of dust extending from ~100-300 AU. Although the resolution of the current map is limited, the map shows an indication of offset asymmetric emission, and several scenarios for this possibility are explored with radiative transfer calculations of a star-disk system and N-body numerical simulations of planet-disk interactions with parameters representative of the HR 8799 system.