TY - JOUR
T1 - Imaging of the Vega Debris System Using JWST/MIRI
AU - Su, Kate Y.L.
AU - Gaspar, Andras
AU - Rieke, George H
AU - Malhotra, Renu
AU - Matrá, Luca
AU - Wolff, Schuyler Grace
AU - Leisenring, Jarron M.
AU - Beichman, Charles
AU - Ygouf, Marie
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2024/12/1
Y1 - 2024/12/1
N2 - We present images of the Vega planetary debris disk obtained at 15.5, 23, and 25.5 μm with the Mid-Infrared Instrument on JWST. The debris system is remarkably symmetric, smooth, and centered accurately on the star. There is a broad Kuiper-belt-analog ring at ∼80-170 au that coincides with the planetesimal belt detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at 1.34 mm. The interior of the broad belt is filled with warm debris that shines most efficiently at mid-infrared, along with a shallow flux dip/gap at 60 au from the star. These qualitative characteristics argue against any Saturn-mass planets orbiting the star outside of about 10 au, assuming the unseen planet would be embedded in the very broad planetesimal disk from a few to hundreds of astronomical units. We find that the distribution of dust detected interior to the broad outer belt is consistent with grains being dragged inward by the Poynting-Robertson effect. Under the drag-dominated disk assumption, tighter constraints can be derived for planets in specific locations; for example, any planet shepherding the inner edge of the outer belt is likely to be less than six Earth masses. The disk surface brightness profile along with the available infrared photometry suggest a disk inner edge near ∼3−5 au, disconnected from the sub-astronomical-unit region that gives rise to the hot near-infrared excess. The gap between the hot, sub-astronomical-unit zone and the inner edge of the warm debris might be shepherded by a modest-mass, Neptune-size planet.
AB - We present images of the Vega planetary debris disk obtained at 15.5, 23, and 25.5 μm with the Mid-Infrared Instrument on JWST. The debris system is remarkably symmetric, smooth, and centered accurately on the star. There is a broad Kuiper-belt-analog ring at ∼80-170 au that coincides with the planetesimal belt detected with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array at 1.34 mm. The interior of the broad belt is filled with warm debris that shines most efficiently at mid-infrared, along with a shallow flux dip/gap at 60 au from the star. These qualitative characteristics argue against any Saturn-mass planets orbiting the star outside of about 10 au, assuming the unseen planet would be embedded in the very broad planetesimal disk from a few to hundreds of astronomical units. We find that the distribution of dust detected interior to the broad outer belt is consistent with grains being dragged inward by the Poynting-Robertson effect. Under the drag-dominated disk assumption, tighter constraints can be derived for planets in specific locations; for example, any planet shepherding the inner edge of the outer belt is likely to be less than six Earth masses. The disk surface brightness profile along with the available infrared photometry suggest a disk inner edge near ∼3−5 au, disconnected from the sub-astronomical-unit region that gives rise to the hot near-infrared excess. The gap between the hot, sub-astronomical-unit zone and the inner edge of the warm debris might be shepherded by a modest-mass, Neptune-size planet.
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U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad8cde
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ad8cde
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85213017022
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 977
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 2
M1 - 277
ER -