Spitzer-Resolved Disks around Solar-Type Stars
First Author:
Geoffrey Bryden
Email: bryden AT jpl.nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
4800 Oak Grove Dr
Pasadena, CA, 91109
Coauthors:
Tanner, Angelle, JPL
Beichman, Charles, JPL
Stapelfeldt, Karl, JPL
Krist, John, JPL
Su, Kate, Arizona
Rieke, George, Arizona
Trilling, David, Arizona
Wyatt, Mark, Cambridge
Abstract
Despite its small size, Spitzer has been unexpectedly successful at resolving the thermal emission from nearby debris disks. We present 70um images of 11 such disks around solar-type stars. Measurements of disk sizes break some of the degeneracy inherent in unresolved SEDs, placing much better constraints on the dust grain sizes and overall disk mass. With typical disk radii of ~100 AU, the dust is much hotter than the local blackbody temperature, suggesting that small (< 10 um) grains dominate the thermal emission.
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