New Light on Young Stars:
Spitzer's View of Circumstellar Disks

The Rings of Epsilon Eridani

First Author:
Massimo Marengo
Email: mmarengo AT cfa.harvard.edu
Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
60 Garden St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
Coauthors:
Backman, Dana, SOFIA & SETI Institute
Stapelfeldt, Karl, JPL/Caltech
Su, Kate, University of Arizona
Wilner, David, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
Dowell, Darren, Caltech
Watson, Dan, University of Rochester
Stansberry, John, University of Arizona
Rieke, George, University of Arizona
Megeath, Thomas, University of Toledo
Fazio, Giovanni, Harvard-Smithsonian CfA
Werner, Michael, JPL/Caltech

Abstract

Our Spitzer Space telescope and Caltech Submillimeter Observatory new images and spectra have revealed an unexpected view of the epsilon Eridani debris disk. We found a complex rings system, characterized by gaps and radial changes in composition and grain size. This data provides new clues on the structure and the dynamics of the epsilon Eridani planetary system, and suggests the presence of new planets in addition to the known radial velocity giant.
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