Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013
Poster 2B048
Interferometry from near-infrared to mm-wavelengths: the transition disk around TW Hydrae
Menu, Jonathan (Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven)
van Boekel, Roy (Max Planck Institut fuer Astronomie)
Henning, Thomas (Max Planck Institut fuer Astronomie)
Benisty, Myriam (Institut de Planetologie et d\'Astrophysique de Grenoble)
Chandler, Claire (National Radio Astronomy Observatory)
Linz, Hendrik (Max Planck Institut fuer Astronomie)
Waelkens, Christoffel (Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, KU Leuven)
Abstract:
For over a decade, the structure of the inner \"hole\" in the transition disk of TW Hydrae has been a subject of strong debate. Observations at different wavelengths have been modeled largely on an individual basis, and by consequence the inferred size scales are not necessarily agreeing. The disagreement at different wavelengths can simply be an indication for inconsistency, but might as well point to radial changes in dust properties, e.g.~caused by dust growth or the disk interaction with a sub-stellar companion.
To probe the innermost region of the protoplanetary disk, observations at the highest possible spatial resolution are required. We present new near- and mid-infrared (VLTI/PIONIER and VLTI/MIDI) and millimeter (VLA) interferometric data of TW Hya. On the basis of the new and archival data, we investigate the shortcomings of existing models, both on the inner-disk and the outer-disk scales.
Using a genetic fitting algorithm, a detailed radiative-transfer model is determined that reproduces the multi-wavelength data set. The modeling work shows that: 1) the inner disk structure agrees with surface-density profiles following from hydrodynamical simulations for disks with a companion; 2) the (sub-)mm data agrees with a centrally concentrated large grain population. Considering the latter observation, we indicate that the inferred surface densities agree with results from dust-growth simulations in protoplanetary disks. A current \"best model\" is proposed.
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