Abstract
We use spectrally dispersed near-IR interferometry data to constrain the temperature profiles of sub-AU-sized regions of 11 Herbig Ae/Be sources. We find that a single-temperature ring does not reproduce the data well. Rather, models incorporating radial temperature gradients are preferred. These gradients may arise in a dusty disk, or may reflect separate gas and dust components with different temperatures and spatial distributions. Comparison of our models with broad-band spectral energy distributions suggests the latter explanation. The data support the view that the near-IR emission of Herbig Ae/Be sources arises from hot circumstellar dust and gas in sub-AU-sized disk regions. Intriguingly, our derived temperature gradients appear systematically steeper for disks around higher mass stars. It is not clear, however, whether this reflects trends in relative dust/gas contributions or gradients within individual components.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 347-358 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Astrophysical Journal |
Volume | 657 |
Issue number | 1 I |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 1 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Circumstellar matter
- Stars: individual (AB Aur, AS 442, CQ Tau, MWC 120, MWC 480, MWC 758, MWC 1080, T Ori, V1295 Aql, V1685 Cyg, VV Ser)
- Stars: pre-main-sequence
- Techniques: high angular resolution
- Techniques: interferometric
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
- Space and Planetary Science