Modeling the Infrared Emission from the ɛ Eridani Disk

We model the infrared (IR) emission from the ringlike dust disk around the main-sequence (MS) star ɛ Eridani, a young analog to our solar system, in terms of a porous dust model previously developed for the extended wedge-shaped disk around the MS star β Pictoris and the sharply truncated ringlike disks around the Herbig Ae/Be stars HR 4796A and HD 141569A. It is shown that the porous dust model with a porosity of ~90% is also successful in reproducing the IR to submillimeter dust emission spectral energy distribution as well as the 850 μm flux radial profile of the dust ring around the more evolved MS star ɛ Eri. Predictions are made for future SIRTF observations that may allow a direct test of the porous dust model.