ALMA High-resolution Multiband Analysis for the Protoplanetary Disk around TW Hya

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ALMA multiband data to analyze the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya, reconstructing detailed spectral index maps and dust properties with validated imaging methods.

Contribution

It introduces and validates a high-resolution spectral index imaging technique using multi-frequency synthesis with second-order Taylor expansion.

Findings

MFS imaging accurately reproduces spectral index distribution

Enhanced β values within gaps indicate dust grain size variations

High-resolution dust temperature and optical depth maps were derived

Abstract

We present a high-resolution (2.5 au) multiband analysis of the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya using ALMA long baseline data at Bands 3, 4, 6, and 7. We aim to reconstruct a high-sensitivity millimeter continuum image and revisit the spectral index distribution. The imaging is performed by combining new ALMA data at Bands 4 and 6 with available archive data. Two methods are employed to reconstruct the images; multi-frequency synthesis (MFS) and the fiducial image-oriented method, where each band is imaged separately and the frequency dependence is fitted pixel by pixel. We find that the MFS imaging with the second order of Taylor expansion can reproduce the frequency dependence of the continuum emission between Bands 3 and 7 in a manner consistent with previous studies and is a reasonable method to reconstruct the spectral index map. The image-oriented method provides a spectral index map consistent with the MFS imaging, but with a two times lower resolution. Mock observations of an intensity model were conducted to validate the images from the two methods. We find that the MFS imaging provides a high-resolution spectral index distribution with an uncertainty of $<10$~\%. Using the submillimeter spectrum reproduced from our MFS images, we directly calculated the optical depth, power-law index of the dust opacity coefficient ($\beta$), and dust temperature. The derived parameters are consistent with previous works, and the enhancement of $\beta$ within the intensity gaps is also confirmed, supporting a deficit of millimeter-sized grains within the gaps.