A rotating disk of gas and dust around a young counterpart to β Pictoris

Vincent Mannings (), David W. Koerner and Anneila I. Sargent
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Vincent Mannings: Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology
David W. Koerner: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
Anneila I. Sargent: Mathematics and Astronomy, California Institute of Technology

Nature, 1997, vol. 388, issue 6642, 555-557

Abstract: Abstract β Pictoris is the best known example of a main-sequence star encircled by a tenuous disk1. Optical2,3 and infrared4 images of β Pic suggest that the disk is composed of dust grains which have been interpreted1 as the debris generated by the disruption of the asteroid-sized remnants of planet-formation processes5. The star itself is relatively old, with an age in excess of 100 Myr. Here we present high-resolution millimetre-wave images of continuum and molecular-line emission from dust and gas surrounding a much younger star, MWC480: the stellar properties of MWC480 are similar to those of β Pic, but its age is just 6 Myr. The morphology of the circumstellar material and a comparison with the predictions of kinematic modelling indicate the presence of a rotating disk, gravitationally bound to the star. Moreover, the mass of the disk is greater than the minimum required to form a planetary system like our own5. We therefore suggest that the disk around the young star MWC480 could be a progenitor of debris disks of the type associated with older stars such as β Pic, and so holds much promise for the study of both the origin of debris disks and the early stages of the formation of planetary systems.

Date: 1997
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DOI: 10.1038/41505

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