Rave: A non-parametric method for recovering the surface brightness and height profiles of edge-on debris disks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a non-parametric method to accurately recover the radial surface brightness and vertical height profiles of edge-on debris disks, enhancing understanding of their structure without relying on specific functional assumptions.

Contribution

The study presents a novel non-parametric algorithm for analyzing edge-on debris disks, applicable to thermal emission and scattered light data, improving structural constraints over parametric methods.

Findings

Consistent surface brightness profile with parametric estimates

Possible scale height of 0.8 au across the disk

Linear increase in scale height with radius is plausible

Abstract

Extrasolar analogues of the Solar System's Kuiper belt offer unique constraints on outer planetary system architecture. Radial features such as the sharpness of disk edges and substructures such as gaps may be indicative of embedded planets within a disk. Vertically, the height of a disk can constrain the mass of embedded bodies. Edge-on debris disks offer a unique opportunity to simultaneously access the radial and vertical distribution of material, however recovering either distribution in an unbiased way is challenging. In this study, we present a non-parametric method to recover the surface brightness profile (face-on surface brightness as a function of radius) and height profile (scale height as a function of radius) of azimuthally symmetric, edge-on debris disks. The method is primarily designed for observations at thermal emission wavelengths, but is also applicable to scattered light observations under the assumption of isotropic scattering. By removing assumptions on underlying functional forms, this algorithm provides more realistic constraints on disk structures. We also apply this technique to ALMA observations of the AU Mic debris disk and derive a surface brightness profile consistent with estimates from parametric approaches, but with a more realistic range of possible models that is independent of parametrisation assumptions. Our results are consistent with a uniform scale height of 0.8 au, but a scale height that increases linearly with radius is also possible.