The Matryoshka Disk: Keck/NIRC2 Discovery of a Solar System-Scale, Radially Segregated Residual Protoplanetary Disk Around HD 141569A

TL;DR

This paper reports the direct imaging discovery of a solar system-scale residual protoplanetary disk around HD 141569A, revealing a radially segregated dust and gas structure that informs planet formation and disk evolution models.

Contribution

First direct imaging of a residual protoplanetary disk around HD 141569A showing radially segregated dust and gas, advancing understanding of disk evolution and planet formation.

Findings

Inner disk radius of ~39 AU with a thick torus-like structure

Radial segregation of dust and gas consistent with dust trapping mechanisms

Presence of three nested, gapped dust populations around HD 141569A

Abstract

Using Keck/NIRC2 $L^\prime$ (3.78 $\mu m$) data, we report the direct imaging discovery of a scattered light-resolved, solar system-scale residual protoplanetary disk around the young A-type star HD 141569A, interior to and concentric with the two ring-like structures at wider separations. The disk is resolved down to $\sim$ 0\farcs{}25 and appears as an arc-like rim with attached hook-like features. It is located at an angular separation intermediate between that of warm CO gas identified from spatially-resolved mid-infrared spectroscopy and diffuse dust emission recently discovered with the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope}. The inner disk has a radius of $\sim$ 39 AU, a position angle consistent with north-up, an inclination of $i$ $\sim$ 56$^{o}$, and has a center offset from the star. Forward-modeling of the disk favors a thick torus-like emission sharply truncated at separations beyond the torus' photocenter and heavily depleted at smaller separations. In particular, the best-fit density power law for the dust suggests that the inner disk dust and gas (as probed by CO) are radially segregated, a feature consistent with the dust trapping mechanism inferred from observations of "canonical" transitional disks. However, the inner disk component may instead be explained by radiation pressure-induced migration in optically-thin conditions, in contrast to the two stellar companion/planet-influenced ring-like structures at wider separations. HD 141569A's circumstellar environment --- with three nested, gapped, concentric dust populations --- is an excellent laboratory for understanding the relationship between planet formation and the evolution of both dust grains and disk architecture.