Revealing the inner circumstellar disk of the T Tauri star S CrA N using the VLTI

TL;DR

This study uses VLTI observations to resolve the inner structure of the circumstellar disk around T Tauri star S CrA N, revealing a truncated disk with a hot inner rim at about 0.11 AU, consistent with models including backwarming.

Contribution

First direct interferometric measurement of the inner disk structure of S CrA N, confirming a truncated disk with a hot inner rim and providing detailed size estimates.

Findings

Inner disk radius ~0.11 AU with a hot rim

Disk size larger than simple sublimation models predict

Disk likely consists of two components with a gap

Abstract

Aims: We investigate the structure of the circumstellar disk of the T Tauri star S CrA N and test whether the observations agree with the standard picture proposed for Herbig Ae stars. Methods: Our observations were carried out with the VLTI/AMBER instrument in the H and K bands with the low spectral resolution mode. For the interpretation of our near-infrared AMBER and archival mid-infrared MIDI visibilities, we employed both geometric and temperature-gradient models. Results: To characterize the disk size, we first fitted geometric models consisting of a stellar point source, a ring-shaped disk, and a halo structure to the visibilities. In the H and K bands, we measured ring-fit radii of 0.73 +- 0.03 mas (corresponding to 0.095 +- 0.018 AU for a distance of 130 pc) and 0.85 +- 0.07 mas (0.111 +- 0.026 AU), respectively. This K-band radius is approximately two times larger than the dust sublimation radius of ~0.05 AU expected for a dust sublimation temperature of 1500 K and gray dust opacities, but approximately agrees with the prediction of models including backwarming (namely a radius of ~0.12 AU). The derived temperature-gradient models suggest that the disk is approximately face-on consisting of two disk components with a gap between star and disk. The inner disk component has a temperature close to the dust sublimation temperature and a quite narrow intensity distribution with a radial extension from 0.11 AU to 0.14 AU. Conclusions: Both our geometric and temperature-gradient models suggest that the T Tauri star S CrA N is surrounded by a circumstellar disk that is truncated at an inner radius of ~0.11 AU. The narrow extension of the inner temperature-gradient disk component implies that there is a hot inner rim.