Near-IR High-Resolution Imaging Polarimetry of the SU Aur Disk: Clues for Tidal Tails?

Abstract

We present new high-resolution ($\sim$0\farcs09) $H$-band imaging observations of the circumstellar disk around the T Tauri star SU Aur. Our observations with Subaru-HiCIAO have revealed the presence of scattered light as close as 0\farcs15 ($\sim$20 AU) to the star. Within our image, we identify bright emission associated with a disk with a minimum radius of $\sim$90 AU, an inclination of $\sim$35\degr from the plane of the sky, and an approximate P.A. of 15\degr for the major axis. We find a brightness asymmetry between the northern and southern sides of the disk due to a non-axisymmetric disk structure. We also identify a pair of asymmetric tail structures extending east and west from the disk. The western tail extends at least 2\farcs5 (350 AU) from the star, and is probably associated with a reflection nebula previously observed at optical and near-IR wavelengths. The eastern tail extends at least 1\arcsec (140 AU) at the present signal-to-noise. These tails are likely due to an encounter with an unseen brown dwarf, but our results do not exclude the explanation that these tails are outflow cavities or jets.

12 pages, 3 figures, accepted by ApJ

References in corpus (9)

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Cited by in corpus (10)

• Disk Evolution Study Through Imaging of Nearby Young Stars (DESTINYS): Late infall causing disk misalignment and dynamic structures in SU Aur
• Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in Protoplanetary Disks around Herbig Ae/Be and T Tauri Stars
• A Tail Structure Associated with Protoplanetary Disk around SU Aurigae
• What happened before? -- The disks around the precursors of young Herbig Ae/Be stars
• Dusty disk winds at the sublimation rim of the highly inclined, low mass YSO SU Aurigae
• The origin of tail-like structures around protoplanetary disks
• Iterative Angular Differential Imaging (IADI): An exploration of recovering disk structures in scattered light with an iterative ADI approach
• Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS) XIX. Spiral Arms, a Tail, and Diffuse Structures Traced by CO around the GM Aur Disk
• Simulation of images of protoplanetary disks after collision with free-floating planets
• Gaps and Rings: A Near-Universal Trait of Extended Protoplanetary Discs