The great Serpens disk shadow in motion
Abstract
We present multi-epoch Hubble Space Telescope imaging of the Great Disk Shadow in the Serpens star-forming region. The near-infrared images show strong variability of the disk shadow, revealing dynamics of the inner disk on time scales of months. The Great Shadow is projected onto the Serpens reflection nebula by an unresolved protoplanetary disk surrounding the young intermediate-mass star SVS2/CK3/EC82. Since the shadow extends out to a distance of at least 15,000 AU, corresponding to a light travel time of 0.24 years, the images can in principle reveal detailed changes in the disk scale height and position angle on time scales as short as a week, corresponding to the angular resolution of the images, and up to the 1.11 year span between two observing epochs. We present a basic retrieval of temporal changes in the disk density structure, based on the images. We find that the inner disk changes position angle on time scales of months, and that the change is not axisymmetric, suggesting the presence of a non-axisymmetric dynamical forcing on size scales of ~1 AU. Continued space-based monitoring of the Serpens Disk Shadow could provide unique, and detailed, insight into the dynamics of inner protoplanetary disks not available through other means.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #235
- Pub Date:
- January 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AAS...23516103P