Discovery of a dust cloud next to sigma Orionis

Abstract

We report on the discovery of a mid-infrared source at a projected distance of only 1200 AU from the O9.5 V star sigma Orionis. The spatially resolved, fan-shaped morphology and the presence of an ionization front, as well as evidence in the spectrum for processed dust grains, all suggest that it is a proto-planetary disk being dispersed by the intense ultraviolet radiation from sigma Orionis. We compute the mass budget and the photo-evaporation timescale, and discuss the possible nature of this remarkable object.

Accepted for publication in A&A Letters: 4 pages, 3 figures

Cited by in corpus (30)

• Adaptive Optics Photometry and Astrometry of Binary Stars. III. A Faint Companion Search of O-Star Systems
• The brightest stars of the sigma Orionis cluster
• Stars and brown dwarfs in the sigma Orionis cluster: the Mayrit catalogue
• Orbital and physical properties of the $\sigma$ Ori Aa,Ab,B triple system
• XMM-Newton observations of the sigma Ori cluster. I. The complex RGS spectrum of the hot star sigma Ori AB
• A Spitzer Space Telescope far-infrared spectral atlas of compact sources in the Magellanic Clouds. II. The Small Magellanic Cloud
• Spatial distribution of stars and brown dwarfs in sigma Orionis
• Dynamical parallax of sigma Ori AB: mass, distance and age
• An L'-band survey for circumstellar disks around low-mass stars in the young sigma Orionis cluster
• High-Resolution Chandra X-ray Imaging and Spectroscopy of the Sigma Orionis Cluster
• A deep look into the cores of young clusters I. sigma-Orionis
• Spectroscopic estimate of surface gravity for a planetary member in the Sigma Ori cluster
• Circumstellar discs in the young sigma Orionis cluster
• A Herschel view of protoplanetary disks in the $\sigma$ Ori cluster
• A third massive star component in the σ Orionis AB system
• High-Resolution Infrared Imaging of Herschel 36 SE: A Showcase for the Influence of Massive Stars in Cluster Environments
• Low-resolution spectroscopy and spectral energy distributions of selected sources towards sigma Orionis
• M-Band Spectra of Dust Embedded Sources at the Galactic Center
• A bimodal dust grain distribution in the IC 434 HII region
• HRC-I/Chandra X-ray observations towards sigma Orionis
• Ultra low-mass star and substellar formation in sigma Orionis
• Sigma Orionis IRS1 A and B: A Binary Containing a Proplyd
• Zooming in on Supernova 1987A at sub-mm wavelengths
• Mid-infrared observations of young stellar objects in the vicinity of sigma Orionis
• Dusty OB stars in the Small Magellanic Cloud - II: Extragalactic Disks or Examples of the Pleiades Phenomenon?
• A near-infrared/optical/X-ray survey in the centre of sigma Orionis
• Far-infrared emission of massive stars
• Wide sigma Orionis binaries resolved by UKIDSS
• Formation, evolution and multiplicity of brown dwarfs and giant exoplanets
• Ices in the Galactic Centre : solid ice and gaseous CO in the central parsec