Spatially Resolved Debris Disk Studies - Present and Future
First Author:
Karl Stapelfeldt
Email: krs AT exoplanet.jpl.nasa.gov
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Mail Stop 183-900
4800 Oak Grove Drive
Pasadena, CA 91109 USA
Abstract
Nearby debris disks provide the best opportunity to image the structures of solar systems like our own. Since the original IRAS discovery of the ``Fabulous Four'' resolved debris disks, studies at submm, infrared, and optical wavelengths have brought the number of resolved systems to nearly 20. In addition to establishing disk inclinations and position angles, imaging detections break the degeneracy between dust grainsize and asterocentric distance in thermal equilibrium models - thereby establishing the physical scale of extrasolar Kuiper Belts. These studies have directly measured disk central holes, warps, and asymmetries that may be related to planetary perturbers. Imaging searches have placed limits on the mass/luminosity of these putative planetary companions. The cases of epsilon Eridani and Fomalhaut are specifically highlighted. Future imaging with Herschel; coronagraphs on the repaired HST; ALMA; JWST; and mission concepts such as TPF/Darwin (or their precursors) has great potential to expand the number of resolved debris disks and thus our understanding of nearby planetary systems.
Link to PDF
