TY - JOUR
T1 - Variable Outer Disk Shadowing Around the Dipper Star RX J1604.3-2130
AU - Pinilla, Paola
AU - Benisty, Myriam
AU - de Boer, Jozua
AU - Manara, Carlo F.
AU - Bouvier, Jerome
AU - Dominik, Carsten
AU - Ginski, Christian
AU - Loomis, Ryan A.
AU - Sicilia Aguilar, Aurora
PY - 2018/11/26
Y1 - 2018/11/26
N2 - Low brightness dips have recently been observed in images of protoplanetary disks, and they are believed to be shadows by the inner disk. We present VLT/SPHERE polarimetric differential imaging of the transition disk around the dipper star RX J1604.3-2130. We gathered 11 epochs that cover a large temporal baseline, to search for variability over timescales of years, months, weeks, and days. Our observations unambiguously reveal two dips along an almost face-on narrow ring (with a width of ∼20 au), and the location of the peak of this ring is at ∼65 au. The ring lies inside the ring-like structure observed with ALMA, which peaks at ∼83 au. This segregation can result from particle trapping in pressure bumps, potentially due to planet(s). We find that the dips are variable, both in morphology and in position. The eastern dip, at a position angle (PA) of ∼83.°7 ±13.°7, has an amplitude that varies between 40% to 90%, and its angular width varies from 10° to 34°. The western dip, at a PA of ∼265.°90 ±13.°0, is more variable, with amplitude and width variations of 31% to 95% and 12° to 53°, respectively. The separation between the dips is 178.°3 ±14.°5, corresponding to a large misalignment between the inner and outer disks, supporting the classification of J1604 as an aperiodic dipper. The variability indicates that the innermost regions are highly dynamic, possibly due to a massive companion or to a complex magnetic field topology.
AB - Low brightness dips have recently been observed in images of protoplanetary disks, and they are believed to be shadows by the inner disk. We present VLT/SPHERE polarimetric differential imaging of the transition disk around the dipper star RX J1604.3-2130. We gathered 11 epochs that cover a large temporal baseline, to search for variability over timescales of years, months, weeks, and days. Our observations unambiguously reveal two dips along an almost face-on narrow ring (with a width of ∼20 au), and the location of the peak of this ring is at ∼65 au. The ring lies inside the ring-like structure observed with ALMA, which peaks at ∼83 au. This segregation can result from particle trapping in pressure bumps, potentially due to planet(s). We find that the dips are variable, both in morphology and in position. The eastern dip, at a position angle (PA) of ∼83.°7 ±13.°7, has an amplitude that varies between 40% to 90%, and its angular width varies from 10° to 34°. The western dip, at a PA of ∼265.°90 ±13.°0, is more variable, with amplitude and width variations of 31% to 95% and 12° to 53°, respectively. The separation between the dips is 178.°3 ±14.°5, corresponding to a large misalignment between the inner and outer disks, supporting the classification of J1604 as an aperiodic dipper. The variability indicates that the innermost regions are highly dynamic, possibly due to a massive companion or to a complex magnetic field topology.
KW - accretion, accretion disks
KW - circumstellar matter
KW - planets and satellites: formation
KW - protoplanetary disks
KW - stars: individual ([PZ99] J160421.7-213028)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85057626071&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/1810.05172
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/aae824
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aae824
M3 - Article
VL - 868
SP - 1
EP - 14
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
SN - 0004-637X
IS - 2
M1 - 85
ER -