NACO Polarimetric Differential Imaging of TW Hya: A Sharp Look at the Closest T Tauri Disk

TL;DR

This study uses advanced polarimetric imaging with adaptive optics to map the inner regions of the TW Hya protoplanetary disk, revealing detailed polarized emission and radial intensity distribution.

Contribution

First Ks-band polarized intensity map of TW Hya's disk demonstrating the effectiveness of NACO polarimetric imaging for inner disk studies.

Findings

Polarized emission detected between 0.1" and 1.4" from TW Hya

Radial polarized intensity distribution derived at Ks-band

Confirmed surface brightness slope change around 0.8"

Abstract

We present high-contrast imaging data on the disk of the classical T Tauri star TW Hya. The images were obtained through the polarimetric differential imaging technique with the adaptive optics system NACO. Our commissioning data show the presence of polarized disk emission between 0.1" and 1.4" from the star. We derive the first Ks-band radial polarized intensity distribution. We show that the polarized intensity compares well to shorter wavelengths surface brightness observations and confirm the previously reported gradual slope change around 0.8". These results show the potential of the new polarimetric differential imaging technique at 8m-class telescopes to map the inner regions of protoplanetary disks.