A Resolved Near-Infrared Image of The Inner Cavity in The GM Aur Transitional Disk

Abstract

We present high-contrast H-band polarized intensity (PI) images of the transitional disk around the young solar-like star GM Aur. The near-infrared direct imaging of the disk was derived by polarimetric differential imaging using the Subaru 8.2-m Telescope and HiCIAO. An angular resolution and an inner working angle of 0."07 and r~0."05, respectively, were obtained. We clearly resolved a large inner cavity, with a measured radius of 18+/-2 au, which is smaller than that of a submillimeter interferometric image (28 au). This discrepancy in the cavity radii at near-infrared and submillimeter wavelengths may be caused by a 3-4M_Jup planet about 20 au away from the star, near the edge of the cavity. The presence of a near-infrared inner is a strong constraint on hypotheses for inner cavity formation in a transitional disk. A dust filtration mechanism has been proposed to explain the large cavity in the submillimeter image, but our results suggest that this mechanism must be combined with an additional process. We found that the PI slope of the outer disk is significantly different from the intensity slope obtained from HST/NICMOS, and this difference may indicate the grain growth process in the disk.

12 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

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• Stable accretion and episodic outflows in the young transition disk system GM Aurigae
• High-Resolution Near-Infrared Polarimetry and Sub-Millimeter Imaging of FS Tau A: Possible Streamers in Misaligned Circumbinary Disk System
• Planet-forming disks and their environment across regions and time from the full NIR census