Shocks and a Giant Planet in the Disk Orbiting BP Piscium?
Abstract
Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph data support the interpretation that BP Piscium, a gas and dust enshrouded star residing at high Galactic latitude, is a first-ascent giant rather than a classical T Tauri star. Our analysis suggests that BP Piscium's spectral energy distribution can be modeled as a disk with a gap that is opened by a giant planet. Modeling the rich mid-infrared emission line spectrum indicates that the solid-state emitting grains orbiting BP Piscium are primarily composed of ~75 K crystalline, magnesium-rich olivine; ~75 K crystalline, magnesium-rich pyroxene; ~200 K amorphous, magnesium-rich pyroxene; and ~200 K annealed silica (cristobalite). These dust grains are all sub-micron sized. The giant planet and gap model also naturally explains the location and mineralogy of the small dust grains in the disk. Disk shocks that result from disk-planet interaction generate the highly crystalline dust which is subsequently blown out of the disk mid-plane and into the disk atmosphere.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- November 2010
- DOI:
- 10.1088/0004-637X/724/1/470
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1008.1775
- Bibcode:
- 2010ApJ...724..470M
- Keywords:
-
- accretion;
- accretion disks;
- circumstellar matter;
- infrared: stars;
- planet-disk interactions;
- stars: individual: BP Piscium;
- Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
- E-Print:
- 25 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted to ApJ