The water-ice feature in near-infrared disk-scattered light around HD 142527: Micron-sized icy grains lifted up to the disk surface?

TL;DR

This study investigates water-ice features in the disk around HD 142527, revealing low ice abundance at the surface, the potential of polarimetric spectra for characterization, and the presence of micron-sized grains maintained by turbulence.

Contribution

It provides new insights into ice disruption, grain properties, and vertical mixing mechanisms in the disk, using radiative transfer simulations and polarimetric analysis.

Findings

Ice abundance at the disk surface is lower than previous estimates.

Polarimetric spectra can help characterize water-ice properties.

Micron-sized grains are present and maintained by turbulence.

Abstract

We study the $3~\mu$m scattering feature of water ice detected in the outer disk of HD 142527 by performing radiative transfer simulations. We show that an ice mass abundance at the outer disk surface of HD 142527 is much lower than estimated in a previous study. It is even lower than inferred from far-infrared ice observations, implying ice disruption at the disk surface. Next, we demonstrate that a polarization fraction of disk-scattered light varies across the ice-band wavelengths depending on ice grain properties; hence, polarimetric spectra would be another tool for characterizing water-ice properties. Finally, we argue that the observed reddish disk-scattered light is due to grains with a few microns in size. To explain the presence of such grains at the disk surface, we need a mechanism that can efficiently oppose dust settling. If we assume turbulent mixing, our estimate requires $\alpha\gtrsim2\times10^{-3}$, where $\alpha$ is a non-dimensional parameter describing the vertical diffusion coefficient of grains. Future observations probing gas kinematics would be helpful to elucidate vertical grain dynamics in the outer disk of HD 142527.