# Imaging Circumstellar Debris Disks

## 1. Introduction

In the early 1980s, the Infrared Astronomy Satellite (IRAS) detected thermal emission from dust grains with temperatures of 50-125 K and fractional luminosities ($`L_{grains}/L_{}`$) in the range $`10^5`$-$`10^3`$ around four main sequence stars: Vega, Fomalhaut, $`\beta `$ Pictoris, and $`ϵ`$ Eridani. Coronagraphic observations of $`\beta `$ Pic confirmed that the grains do indeed lie in a disk, perhaps associated with a young planetary system (Smith & Terrile 1984). Subsequent surveys of IRAS data have revealed over 100 other main sequence stars of all spectral classes with far-infrared excesses indicative of circumstellar disks (Aumann 1985; Sadakane & Nishida 1986; Cote 1987; Jascheck et al. 1991; Oudmaijer et al. 1992; Cheng et al. 1992; Backman & Paresce 1993; Mannings & Barlow 1998).

In most “Vega-type” stars, the dust grains responsible for the infrared emission are thought to be continually replenished by collisions and sublimation of larger bodies, because the timescales for grain destruction by Poynting-Robertson (PR) drag and ice sublimation are much shorter than the stellar main sequence lifetimes (Nakano 1988; Backman & Paresce 1993). In other words, the disks around main sequence stars are likely to be debris or remnant disks rather than protoplanetary structures. These debris disks contain much less dust (and gas) than the massive, actively accreting disks frequently observed around young pre-main-sequence stars (e.g., Strom et al. 1989; Beckwith et al. 1990). Thus, it is likely that circumstellar disks evolve from masssive, optically thick, actively-accreting structures to low-mass optically thin structures with inner holes, and that disk evolution is closely linked to planet formation (For a popular review, see Jayawardhana 1998).

## 2. Recent Discoveries

For nearly 15 years, only one debris disk –that around $`\beta `$ Pic– had been imaged. Coronagraphic surveys at optical and near-infrared wavelengths had failed to detect scattered light from other Vega-type disks (Smith et al. 1992; Kalas & Jewitt 1996). However, recent advances in infrared and sub-millimeter detectors have led to a batch of dramatic new discoveries.

Using the OSCIR mid-infrared camera on the 4-meter telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in Chile, we recently imaged a dust disk around the young A star HR 4796A at 18$`\mu `$m (Jayawardhana et al. 1998; Koerner et al. 1998; also see Jura et al. 1998, and references therein). HR 4796A is unique among Vega-type stars in that its low-mass binary companion –at an apparent separation of 500AU– shows that the system is relatively young. With a variety of constraints such as lithium abundance, rotational velocity, H-R diagram position and coronal activity, Stauffer et al. (1995) infer that the companion is only $`8\pm 3`$ Myrs old, an age comparable to the $``$10-Myr timescale estimated for planet formation (Strom, Edwards, & Skrutskie 1993; Podosek & Cassen 1994). Interestingly, mid-infrared images of the HR 4796A disk do indeed suggest the presence of an inner cavity of solar system dimensions, as one would expect if dust in that region has coagulated into planets or planetesimals.

Using a revolutionary new camera known as SCUBA on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope in Hawaii, the four prototype debris disks –those around Vega, $`\beta `$ Pic, Fomalhaut and $`ϵ`$ Eri– have also been resolved for the first time in the sub-millimeter (Holland et al. 1998; Greaves et al. 1998). These disks, whose parent stars are likely to be older than HR 4796A, also show inner holes, which may persist due to planets within the central void consuming or perturbing grains inbound under the influence of the PR drag (Holland et al. 1998; Greaves et al. 1998). A surprising result is the discovery of giant “clumps” within three of the disks. The origin and nature of these apparent density enhancements remain a mystery.

Another exciting new result is the discovery of dust emission around 55 Cancri, a star with one, or possibly two, known radial-velocity planetary companions (Butler et al. 1997). From observations made by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) at 25$`\mu `$m and 60$`\mu `$m, Dominik et al. (1998) concluded that 55 Cancri, a 3-5 billion year old G8 star, has a Vega-like disk roughly 60 AU in diamater. Recent near-infrared coronographic observations of Trilling & Brown (1998) have resolved the scattered light from the 55 Cancri dust disk and confirm that it extends to at least 40 AU (3.24”) from the star. Their findings suggest that a significant amount of dust –perhaps a few tenths of an Earth mass– may be present even in the Kuiper Belts of mature planetary systems.

## 3. What next?

While these remarkable new findings have given us unprecedented glimpses into circumstellar debris disks at a variety of stages and conditions, the timescale for disk evolution is still highly uncertain, and may not even be universal. The primary obstacle to determining evolutionary timescales is the difficulty in assigning reliable ages to isolated main sequence stars. Fortunately, as in the case of HR 4796, it is possible to obtain reliable ages for Vega-type stars which have low-mass binary or common proper motion companions (Stauffer et al. 1995; Barrado y Navascues et al. 1997). Therefore, if we are able to image disks surrounding a sample of Vega-type stars whose ages are known from companions, it may be possible to place them in an evolutionary sequence, and to constrain the timescale(s) for planet formation.

The recent identification of a group of young stars associated with TW Hydrae offers a valuable laboratory to study disk evolution and planet formation (Kastner et al.1997; Webb et al. 1998). Being the nearest group of young stars, at a distance of $``$55 pc, the TW Hydrae Association is ideally suited for sensitive disk searches in the mid-infrared. Furthermore, its estimated age of $``$10 Myr would provide a strong constraint on disk evolution timescales and fill a significant gap in the age sequence between $``$1-Myr-old T Tauri stars in molecular clouds like Taurus-Auriga and Chamaeleon and the $``$30-Myr-old open clusters such as IC 2602 and IC 2391. Since several of the TW Hya members are close binary systems, it will also be possible to study the effects of companions on disk evolution. It could well be that a companion’s presence dramatically accelerates disk depletion or causes disk assymmetries.

The current mid-infrared cameras when used on Keck should also be able to conduct sensitive searches for thermal emission from dust associated with Kuiper Belts of extrasolar planetary systems like 55 Cancri. In the sub-millimeter, the beam sizes are still too large to spatially resolve such disks, but sub-mm flux measurements would place important constraints on the amount and nature of their dust.

We are just beginning to study the diversity of debris disks, their evolution and their close connection to planets. New instruments like the Sub-Millimeter Array (SMA) and upcoming space missions such as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) will no doubt assist in that quest.

### Acknowledgments.

I am most grateful to my collaborators Lee Hartmann, Giovanni Fazio, Charles Telesco, Scott Fisher and Robert Piña. It is also my pleasure to acknowledge useful discussions with David Barrado y Navascues, Wayne Holland, Jane Greaves, Geoffrey Marcy, and David Trilling.

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