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Shadows and spirals in the protoplanetary disk HD 100453

Context. Understanding the diversity of planets requires studying the morphology and physical conditions in the protoplanetary disks in which they form. Aims. We aim to study the structure of the similar to 10 Myr old protoplanetary disk HD 100453, to detect features that can trace disk evolution and to understand the mechanisms that drive these features. Methods. We observed HD100453 in polarized scattered light with VLT/SPHERE at optical (0.6 mu m, 0.8 mu m) and near-infrared (1.2 mu m) wavelengths, reaching an angular resolution of similar to 0.02 '', and an inner working angle of similar to 0.09 ''. Results. We spatially resolve the disk around HD 100453, and detect polarized scattered light up to similar to 0.42 '' (similar to 48 au). We detect a cavity, a rim with azimuthal brightness variations at an inclination of similar to 38 degrees with respect to our line of sight, two shadows and two symmetric spiral arms. The spiral arms originate near the location of the shadows, close to the semi major axis. We detect a faint feature in the SW that can be interpreted as the scattering surface of the bottom side of the disk, if the disk is tidally truncated by the M-dwarf companion currently seen at a projected distance of similar to 119 au. We construct a radiative transfer model that accounts for the main characteristics of the features with an inner and outer disk misaligned by similar to 72 degrees. The azimuthal brightness variations along the rim are well reproduced with the scattering phase function of the model. While spirals can be triggered by the tidal interaction with the companion, the close proximity of the spirals to the shadows suggests that the shadows could also play a role. The change in stellar illumination along the rim induces an azimuthal variation of the scale height that can contribute to the brightness variations. Conclusions. Dark regions in polarized images of transition disks are now detected in a handful of disks and often interpreted as shadows due to a misaligned inner disk. However, the origin of such a misalignment in HD100453, and of the spirals, is still unclear, and might be due to a yet-undetected massive companion inside the cavity, and on an inclined orbit. Observations over a few years will allow us to measure the spiral pattern speed, and determine if the shadows are fixed or moving, which may constrain their origin.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/622877
Date21 December 2016
CreatorsBenisty, M., Stolker, T., Pohl, A., de Boer, J., Lesur, G., Dominik, C., Dullemond, C. P., Langlois, M., Min, M., Wagner, K., Henning, T., Juhasz, A., Pinilla, P., Facchini, S., Apai, D., van Boekel, R., Garufi, A., Ginski, C., Ménard, F., Pinte, C., Quanz, S. P., Zurlo, A., Boccaletti, A., Bonnefoy, M., Beuzit, J. L., Chauvin, G., Cudel, M., Desidera, S., Feldt, M., Fontanive, C., Gratton, R., Kasper, M., Lagrange, A.-M., LeCoroller, H., Mouillet, D., Mesa, D., Sissa, E., Vigan, A., Antichi, J., Buey, T., Fusco, T., Gisler, D., Llored, M., Magnard, Y., Moeller-Nilsson, O., Pragt, J., Roelfsema, R., Sauvage, J.-F., Wildi, F.
ContributorsUniv Arizona, Dept Astron
PublisherEDP SCIENCES S A
Source SetsUniversity of Arizona
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeArticle
Rights© ESO, 2016
Relationhttp://www.aanda.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201629798

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