Related papers: The multi-wavelength vertical structure of the arc…
We present deep HST/STIS coronagraphic images of the Beta Pic debris disk obtained at two epochs separated by 15 years. The new images and the re-reduction of the 1997 data provide the most sensitive and detailed views of the disk at…
The vertical structure of debris disks provides clues about their dynamical evolution and the collision rate of the unseen planetesimals. Thanks to the ever-increasing angular resolution of contemporary instruments and facilities, we are…
Debris disks -- collisionally sustained belts of dust and sometimes gas around main sequence stars -- are remnants of planet formation processes and are found in systems ${\gtrsim}10$ Myr old. Millimeter-wavelength observations are…
The vertical thickness of debris discs is often used as a measure of these systems' dynamical excitation and as clues to the presence of hidden massive perturbers such as planetary embryos. However, this argument could be flawed because the…
The nearby young star beta Pictoris hosts a rich and complex planetary system, with at least two giant planets and a nearly edge-on debris disk that contains several dynamical subpopulations of planetesimals. While the inner ranges of the…
Very few debris discs have been imaged in scattered light at wavelengths beyond 3 microns because the thermal emission from both the sky and the telescope is generally too strong with respect to the faint emission of a debris disc. We…
Debris disks are scaled-up analogs of the Kuiper Belt in which dust is generated by collisions between planetesimals. In the "collisional cascade" model of debris disks, dust lost to radiation pressure and winds is constantly replenished by…
The vertical distribution of dust in debris disks is sensitive to the number and size of large planetesimals dynamically stirring the disk, and is therefore well-suited for constraining the prevalence of otherwise unobservable Uranus and…
High-resolution scattered-light imaging has revealed complex morphologies in protoplanetary and circumstellar disks. Measuring the vertical height of the scattering surface is key to understanding disk structure, evolution, and the…
In light of the recent confirmation of an eccentric orbit giant planet, $\beta$ Pic c, I revisit the formation and evolution of the warped debris disc in the system. $\beta$ Pic c is interior to $\beta$ Pic b, and the debris disc is…
It has recently been stated that the warp structure observed around the star Beta Pictoris may be due to four planets embedded in its debris disk (Wahhaj et al., 2003). It, therefore, becomes important to investigate for what range of…
The $\beta$ Pictoris system is characterized by a dusty debris disk, in addition to the presence of two already known planets. This makes it a particularly interesting case for studying the formation and evolution of planetary systems at a…
The vertical warp in the debris disk Beta Pictoris -- an inclined inner disk extending into a flat outer disk -- has long been interpreted as the signpost of a planet on an inclined orbit. Direct images spanning 2004-2010 have revealed Beta…
We present observations at 1.3 millimeters wavelength of the beta Pictoris debris disk with beam size 4.3 x 2.6 arcsec (83 x 50 AU) from the Submillimeter Array. The emission shows two peaks separated by ~7 arsec along the disk plane, which…
Observations of debris disks offer a window into the physical and dynamical properties of planetesimals in extrasolar systems through the size distribution of dust grains. In particular, the millimeter spectral index of thermal dust…
We present new coronagraphic images of Beta Pictoris obtained with the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) in September 1997. The high-resolution images (0.1") clearly detect the circumstellar disk as close as 0.75" to the star,…
Debris discs provide valuable insights into the formation and evolution of exoplanetary systems. Their structures are commonly attributed to planetary perturbations, serving as probes of as-yet-undetected planets. However, most studies of…
The presence of debris disks around young main sequence stars hints at the existence and structure of planetary systems. Millimeter-wavelength observations probe large grains that trace the location of planetesimal belts. The FEPS…
Clumpy structure in the debris disk around Vega has been previously reported at millimeter wavelengths and attributed to concentrations of dust grains trapped in resonances with an unseen planet. However, recent imaging at similar…
We investigate whether varying the dust composition (described by the optical constants) can solve a persistent problem in debris disk modeling--the inability to fit the thermal emission without over-predicting the scattered light. We model…