A Complete ALMA Map of the Fomalhaut Debris Disk

Abstract

We present ALMA mosaic observations at 1.3 mm (223 GHz) of the Fomalhaut system with a sensitivity of 14 $\mu$Jy/beam. These observations provide the first millimeter map of the continuum dust emission from the complete outer debris disk with uniform sensitivity, enabling the first conclusive detection of apocenter glow. We adopt a MCMC modeling approach that accounts for the eccentric orbital parameters of a collection of particles within the disk. The outer belt is radially confined with an inner edge of $136.3\pm 0.9$ AU and width of $13.5\pm 1.8$ AU. We determine a best-fit eccentricity of $0.12\pm 0.01$. Assuming a size distribution power law index of $q=3.46\pm 0.09$, we constrain the dust absorptivity power law index $\beta$ to be $0.9<\beta <1.5$. The geometry of the disk is robustly constrained with inclination $65.{}^{\circ }6\pm 0.{}^{\circ }3$, position angle $337.{}^{\circ }9\pm 0.{}^{\circ }3$, and argument of periastron $22.{}^{\circ }5\pm 4.{}^{\circ }3$. Our observations do not confirm any of the azimuthal features found in previous imaging studies of the disk with HST, SCUBA, and ALMA. However, we cannot rule out structures $\le 10$ AU in size or which only affect smaller grains. The central star is clearly detected with a flux density of $0.75\pm 0.02$ mJy, significantly lower than predicted by current photospheric models. We discuss the implications of these observations for the directly imaged Fomalhaut b and the inner dust belt detected at infrared wavelengths.

15 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (9)

• Optical Images of an Exosolar Planet 25 Light Years from Earth
• Herschel images of Fomalhaut. An extrasolar Kuiper Belt at the height of its dynamical activity
• ALMA observations of the $\eta$ Corvi debris disc: inward scattering of CO-rich exocomets by a chain of 3-30 M${}_{\oplus }$ planets?
• Dynamical evolution of an eccentric planet and a less massive debris disc
• ALMA observations of the debris disk around the young Solar Analog HD 107146
• Apocenter glow in eccentric debris disks: implications for Fomalhaut and epsilon Eridani
• Fomalhaut b as a Dust Cloud: Frequent Collisions within the Fomalhaut Disk
• Fomalhaut b as a Cloud of Dust: Testing Aspects of Planet Formation Theory
• ALMA Observations of the Debris Disk of Solar Analogue Tau Ceti

Cited by in corpus (60)

• Protoplanetary disk rings and gaps across ages and luminosities
• SONS: The JCMT legacy survey of debris discs in the submillimetre
• Solar System Physics for Exoplanet Research
• ALMA observations of the narrow HR 4796A debris ring
• Spatially resolved imaging of the inner Fomalhaut disk using JWST/MIRI
• ALMA Detection of Extended Millimeter Halos in the HD 32297 and HD 61005 Debris Disks
• ALMA 1.3 Millimeter Map of the HD 95086 System
• Magnetism, X-rays, and Accretion Rates in WD 1145+017 and other Polluted White Dwarf Systems
• High resolution ALMA and HST images of q${}^1$ Eri: an asymmetric debris disc with an eccentric Jupiter
• The unexpected narrowness of eccentric debris rings: a sign of eccentricity during the protoplanetary disc phase
• Constraining planetesimal stirring: how sharp are debris disc edges?
• The Simons Observatory: Galactic Science Goals and Forecasts
• Dust Populations in the Iconic Vega Planetary System Resolved by ALMA
• Fomalhaut b could be massive and sculpting the narrow, eccentric debris disc, if in mean-motion resonance with it
• The formation of wide exoKuiper belts from migrating dust traps
• ALMA Images the Eccentric HD 53143 Debris Disk
• Extrasolar Kuiper Belts
• On the cavity of a debris disc carved by a giant planet
• Stirred but not shaken: a multi-wavelength view of HD 16743's debris disc
• The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) II. The radial structure of debris discs
• The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS) I: Motivation, sample, data reduction, and results overview
• Eccentric debris disc morphologies I: exploring the origin of apocentre and pericentre glows in face-on debris discs
• Has the dust clump in the debris disk of Beta Pictoris moved?
• EMISSA -- Exploring Millimeter Indicators of Solar-Stellar Activity I. The Initial mm-cm Main Sequence Star Sample
• Relating grain size distributions in circumstellar discs to the spectral index at millimetre wavelengths
• Debris Disks in Multi-Planet Systems: Are Our Inferences Compromised by Unseen Planets?
• Atacama Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (AtLAST) Science: Our Galaxy
• A PR drag origin for the Fomalhaut disk's pervasive inner dust: constraints on collisional strengths, icy composition, and embedded planets
• Simulations of the Fomalhaut System Within Its Local Galactic Environment
• The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS): VI. Asymmetries and offsets
• Four new PLanetesimals Around TYpical and Pre-main seqUence Stars (PLATYPUS) Debris Discs at 8.8mm
• Physical conditions of gas components in debris disks of 49 Ceti and HD 21997
• Eccentric debris disc morphologies II: Surface brightness variations from overlapping orbits in narrow eccentric discs
• Characterization of debris disks observed with SPHERE
• Narrow belt of debris around the Sco-Cen star HD 141011
• Twisted debris: how differential secular perturbations shape debris disks
• Stellar winds can affect gas dynamics in debris disks and create observable belt winds
• Formation of Multiple Dynamical Classes in the Kuiper Belt via Disk Dissipation
• Multi-wavelength aperture polarimetry of debris disc host stars
• Seeking echoes of circumstellar disks in Kepler light curves
• The apparent absence of forward scattering in the HD 53143 debris disk
• ALMA Reveals an Eccentricity Gradient in the Fomalhaut Debris Disk
• ALMA and Keck analysis of Fomalhaut field sources: JWST's Great Dust Cloud is a background object
• Multi-wavelength, spatially resolved modelling of HD 48682's debris disc
• Spectropolarimetry as a Means to Address Cloud Composition and Habitability for a Cloudy Exoplanetary Atmosphere in the Habitable Zone
• High Resolution ALMA Data of the Fomalhaut Debris Disk Confirms Apsidal Width Variation
• A second planetesimal collision in the Fomalhaut system
• JWST/MIRI Imaging of the Warm Dust Component of the Epsilon Eridani Debris Disk
• Hot exozodiacal dust around Fomalhaut: The MATISSE perspective
• Radial velocity analysis of stars with debris discs
• Eccentric debris belts reveal the dynamical history of the companion exoplanet
• Deep Search for a scattered light dust halo around Vega with the Hubble Space Telescope
• Debris Rings from Extrasolar Irregular Satellites
• Testing the Impact of Planet-stirring, Self-stirring, and Mixed-stirring on Debris Disc Architecture: A Case Study of HD 16743
• Late gas released in the young Kuiper belt could have significantly contributed to the carbon enrichment of the atmospheres of Neptune and Uranus
• Role of non-thermal processes in the quiescent and active millimeter spectrum of a young M dwarf
• A Multi-Wavelength Study of the Highly Asymmetrical Debris Disk Around HD 111520
• HD 44892: The youngest (or oldest?) gas-harbouring debris disc around an intermediate mass star
• The impact of the presence of water ice on the analysis of debris disk observations
• Resolving the large exoKuiper belt of the HD 126062 debris disc and extended gas emission in its vicinity