Evidence of Photoevaporation and Spatial Variation of Grain Sizes in the Orion 114-426 Protoplanetary Disk

Deep Hubble Space Telescope broadband images taken with Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and WFPC2 of the giant (~1000 AU diameter) dark silhouette proplyd 114-426 in the Orion Nebula show that this system is tilted, asymmetric, warped, and photoevaporated. The exquisite angular resolution of ACS allows us to map the distribution of dust grains at the northern translucent edge of the disk, dominated by the photoevaporative flow. Using the Mie theory for standard circumstellar disk grains, we find evidence for a spatial gradient in grain size. The typical dust radius ~= 0.2-0.7 μm (less than what was reported by previous studies) becomes smaller as the distance from the disk center increases, consistent with the expectations for the dynamic of dust entrained in a gaseous photoevaporative wind. Our analysis of the disk morphology and location within the nebula indicates that this system is photoevaporated by the diffuse radiation field of the Orion Nebula, while being shielded from the radiation coming directly from the central Trapezium stars. We estimate the mass-loss rate from the disk surface and the timescale for total disk dissipation, which turns out to be of the order of 10⁴ yr. Such a short time, of the order of 1/100 of the cluster age, indicates that this system is seen on the verge of destruction. This is compatible with the exceptional nature of the disk, namely its combination of huge size and low mass. Finally, we briefly discuss the viability of possible mechanisms that may lead to the peculiar morphology of this system: external UV flux, binary star, and past close encounter.