ALMA imaging of the M-dwarf Fomalhaut C’s debris disc

Fomalhaut C (LP 876-10) is a low mass M4V star in the intriguing Fomalhaut triple system and, like Fomalhaut A, possesses a debris disc. It is one of very few nearby M-dwarfs known to host a debris disc and of these has by far the lowest stellar mass. We present new resolved observations of the debris disc around Fomalhaut C with the Atacama Large Millimetre Array that allow us to model its properties and investigate the system’s unique history. The ring has a radius of 26 au and a narrow full width at half-maximum of at most 4.2 au. We find a 3σ upper limit on the eccentricity of 0.14, neither confirming nor ruling out previous dynamic interactions with Fomalhaut A that could have affected Fomalhaut C’s disc. We detect no 12CO J = 3-2 emission in the system and do not detect the disc in scattered light with HST/STIS or VLT/SPHERE. We find the original Herschel detection to be consistent with our ALMA model’s radial size. We place the disc in the context of the wider debris disc population and find that its radius is as expected from previous disc radius-host luminosity trends. Higher signal-to-noise observations of the system would be required to further constrain the disc properties and provide further insight to the history of the Fomalhaut triple system as a whole.

[1]  G. Kennedy,et al.  No significant correlation between radial velocity planet presence and debris disc properties , 2020, 2005.03573.

[2]  G. Rieke,et al.  New HST data and modeling reveal a massive planetesimal collision around Fomalhaut , 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[3]  J. Lestrade,et al.  Observability of dusty debris discs around M-stars , 2019, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[4]  A. Lagrange,et al.  ODEA: Orbital Dynamics in a complex Evolving Architecture , 2019, Astronomy & Astrophysics.

[5]  M. Wyatt,et al.  A statistically significant lack of debris discs in medium separation binary systems , 2019, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[6]  J. Milli,et al.  The REASONS Survey: Resolved Millimeter Observations of a Large Debris Disk around the Nearby F Star HD 170773 , 2019, The Astrophysical Journal.

[7]  P. Kalas,et al.  A Near-coplanar Stellar Flyby of the Planet Host Star HD 106906 , 2019, The Astronomical Journal.

[8]  Julien H. Girard,et al.  SPHERE: the exoplanet imager for the Very Large Telescope , 2019, Astronomy & Astrophysics.

[9]  D. Wilner,et al.  On the Ubiquity and Stellar Luminosity Dependence of Exocometary CO Gas: Detection around M Dwarf TWA 7 , 2019, The Astronomical Journal.

[10]  A. Boccaletti,et al.  Comprehensive Analysis of HD 105, A Young Solar System Analog , 2018, The Astrophysical Journal.

[11]  J. C. Beamin,et al.  Sub-millimetre non-contaminated detection of the disc around TWA 7 by ALMA , 2018, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

[12]  P. J. Richards,et al.  Gaia Data Release 2. Summary of the contents and survey properties , 2018, 1804.09365.

[13]  D. Wilner,et al.  An Empirical Planetesimal Belt Radius–Stellar Luminosity Relation , 2018, 1804.01094.

[14]  B. Matthews,et al.  Debris Disks: Structure, Composition, and Variability , 2018, Annual Review of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

[15]  R. Soummer,et al.  HD 104860 and HD 192758: Two Debris Disks Newly Imaged in Scattered Light with the Hubble Space Telescope , 2018, 1801.05424.

[16]  H. Jones,et al.  Understanding Fomalhaut as a Cooper pair , 2017, 1710.07184.

[17]  E. B. White,et al.  Simulations of the Fomalhaut system within its local galactic environment , 2017, 1709.07006.

[18]  Frederik Beaujean,et al.  GALARIO: a GPU accelerated library for analysing radio interferometer observations , 2017, 1709.06999.

[19]  G. Rieke,et al.  A Complete ALMA Map of the Fomalhaut Debris Disk , 2017, 1705.05867.

[20]  J. Graham,et al.  Detection of Exocometary CO within the 440 Myr Old Fomalhaut Belt: A Similar CO+CO2 Ice Abundance in Exocomets and Solar System Comets , 2017, 1705.05868.

[21]  J. Augereau,et al.  The Northern arc of ε Eridani’s Debris Ring as seen by ALMA , 2017, 1705.01560.

[22]  A. Lagrange,et al.  Origin of the wide-orbit circumbinary giant planet HD 106906 - A dynamical scenario and its impact on the disk , 2017, 1703.01857.

[23]  Julien H. Girard,et al.  First Scattered-light Images of the Gas-rich Debris Disk around 49 Ceti , 2016, 1612.07320.

[24]  E. Ford,et al.  1.3 mm ALMA Observations of the Fomalhaut Debris System , 2016, 1612.01648.

[25]  Julien H. Girard,et al.  The SHARDDS survey: First resolved image of the HD 114082 debris disk in the Lower Centaurus Crux with SPHERE , 2016, 1611.05866.

[26]  Gaia Collaboration,et al.  The Gaia mission , 2016, 1609.04153.

[27]  P. P. van der Werf,et al.  THE ALMA SPECTROSCOPIC SURVEY IN THE HUBBLE ULTRA DEEP FIELD: CONTINUUM NUMBER COUNTS, RESOLVED 1.2 mm EXTRAGALACTIC BACKGROUND, AND PROPERTIES OF THE FAINTEST DUSTY STAR-FORMING GALAXIES , 2016, 1607.06769.

[28]  A. Abergel,et al.  Deep Herschel PACS point spread functions , 2016, 1605.03587.

[29]  Simon Portegies Zwart,et al.  Mass transfer between debris discs during close stellar encounters , 2016, 1601.08171.

[30]  Martin Rubin,et al.  Inventory of the volatiles on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from Rosetta/ROSINA , 2015 .

[31]  J. Blommaert,et al.  THE AU MIC DEBRIS DISK: FAR-INFRARED AND SUBMILLIMETER RESOLVED IMAGING , 2015, 1509.06415.

[32]  D. Charbonneau,et al.  THE OCCURRENCE OF POTENTIALLY HABITABLE PLANETS ORBITING M DWARFS ESTIMATED FROM THE FULL KEPLER DATASET AND AN EMPIRICAL MEASUREMENT OF THE DETECTION SENSITIVITY , 2015, 1501.01623.

[33]  I. Kamp,et al.  Constraints on the gas content of the Fomalhaut debris belt. Can gas-dust interactions explain the belt's morphology? , 2014, 1412.5785.

[34]  W. Dent,et al.  CO mass upper limits in the Fomalhaut ring - the importance of NLTE excitation in debris discs and future prospects with ALMA , 2014, 1412.2757.

[35]  B. Gladman,et al.  FOMALHAUT b AS A DUST CLOUD: FREQUENT COLLISIONS WITHIN THE FOMALHAUT DISK , 2014, 1412.1129.

[36]  H. Beust,et al.  Insights on the dynamical history of the Fomalhaut system - Investigating the Fom c hypothesis , 2014, 1409.6868.

[37]  G. Bryden,et al.  DISK RADII AND GRAIN SIZES IN HERSCHEL-RESOLVED DEBRIS DISKS , 2014, 1407.4579.

[38]  D. Apai,et al.  A STELLAR-MASS-DEPENDENT DROP IN PLANET OCCURRENCE RATES , 2014, 1406.7356.

[39]  C. Clarke,et al.  Dancing with the stars: formation of the Fomalhaut triple system and its effect on the debris discs , 2014, 1404.7136.

[40]  S. Kenyon,et al.  FOMALHAUT b AS A CLOUD OF DUST: TESTING ASPECTS OF PLANET FORMATION THEORY , 2014, 1403.5268.

[41]  Daniel Tamayo,et al.  Consequences of an eccentric orbit for Fomalhaut b , 2013, 1312.7020.

[42]  P. Kalas,et al.  Discovery of the Fomalhaut C debris disc , 2013, 1312.5315.

[43]  John C. Lurie,et al.  THE SOLAR NEIGHBORHOOD. XXX. FOMALHAUT C , 2013, 1310.0764.

[44]  R. Cloutier,et al.  A DEEP KECK/NIRC2 SEARCH FOR THERMAL EMISSION FROM PLANETARY COMPANIONS ORBITING FOMALHAUT , 2013, 1309.0813.

[45]  M. Kuchner,et al.  Formation of sharp eccentric rings in debris disks with gas but without planets , 2013, Nature.

[46]  E. Mamajek,et al.  INTRINSIC COLORS, TEMPERATURES, AND BOLOMETRIC CORRECTIONS OF PRE-MAIN-SEQUENCE STARS , 2013, 1307.2657.

[47]  Mark Clampin,et al.  STIS CORONAGRAPHIC IMAGING OF FOMALHAUT: MAIN BELT STRUCTURE AND THE ORBIT OF FOMALHAUT b , 2013, 1305.2222.

[48]  Julien H. Girard,et al.  CORONAGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS OF FOMALHAUT AT SOLAR SYSTEM SCALES , 2012, 1212.1459.

[49]  B. Reipurth,et al.  Formation of the widest binary stars from dynamical unfolding of triple systems , 2012, Nature.

[50]  P. Kalas,et al.  A DEBRIS disk around the planet hosting M-star GJ 581 spatially resolved with Herschel , 2012, 1211.4898.

[51]  Adam Burrows,et al.  DIRECT IMAGING CONFIRMATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A DUST-ENSHROUDED CANDIDATE EXOPLANET ORBITING FOMALHAUT , 2012, 1210.6620.

[52]  G. Rieke,et al.  Resolved debris discs around A stars in the Herschel DEBRIS survey , 2012, 1210.0547.

[53]  D. Mawet,et al.  Impact of angular differential imaging on circumstellar disk images , 2012, 1207.5909.

[54]  William Dent,et al.  CONSTRAINING THE PLANETARY SYSTEM OF FOMALHAUT USING HIGH-RESOLUTION ALMA OBSERVATIONS , 2012, 1204.0007.

[55]  Daniel Foreman-Mackey,et al.  emcee: The MCMC Hammer , 2012, 1202.3665.

[56]  M. Janson,et al.  INFRARED NON-DETECTION OF FOMALHAUT b: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PLANET INTERPRETATION , 2012, 1201.4388.

[57]  B. Zuckerman,et al.  BINARIES AMONG DEBRIS DISK STARS , 2011, 1111.5618.

[58]  F. Bouchy,et al.  The HARPS search for southern extra-solar planets - XXXI. The M-dwarf sample , 2011, 1111.5019.

[59]  J. Lestrade,et al.  Stripping a debris disk by close stellar encounters in an open stellar cluster , 2011, 1107.0970.

[60]  G. D. Illingworth,et al.  HUBBLE AND SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE OBSERVATIONS OF THE DEBRIS DISK AROUND THE NEARBY K DWARF HD 92945 , 2011, 1105.0888.

[61]  C. Clarke,et al.  Debris disk size distributions: steady state collisional evolution with Poynting-Robertson drag and other loss processes , 2011, 1103.5499.

[62]  Christopher C. Stark,et al.  The cold origin of the warm dust around ε Eridani , 2010, 1011.4882.

[63]  M. Wyatt,et al.  Collisional evolution of irregular satellite swarms: detectable dust around Solar system and extrasolar planets , 2010, 1011.4858.

[64]  Mark Clampin,et al.  HST AND SPITZER OBSERVATIONS OF THE HD 207129 DEBRIS RING , 2010, 1008.2793.

[65]  F. Henry,et al.  “TNOs are Cool”: A survey of the trans-Neptunian region , 2010, Astronomy & Astrophysics.

[66]  B. Skiff,et al.  VizieR Online Data Catalog , 2009 .

[67]  P. Kalas,et al.  FOMALHAUT'S DEBRIS DISK AND PLANET: CONSTRAINING THE MASS OF FOMALHAUT B FROM DISK MORPHOLOGY , 2008, 0811.1985.

[68]  Mark Clampin,et al.  Optical Images of an Exosolar Planet 25 Light-Years from Earth , 2008, Science.

[69]  H. Beust,et al.  Investigating the flyby scenario for the HD 141569 system , 2008, 0809.4421.

[70]  M. Wyatt,et al.  Evolution of Debris Disks , 2008 .

[71]  Kjetil Dohlen,et al.  The infra-red dual imaging and spectrograph for SPHERE: design and performance , 2008, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[72]  T. Löhne,et al.  Collisional and Thermal Emission Models of Debris Disks: Toward Planetesimal Population Properties , 2008, 0807.0603.

[73]  G. Besla,et al.  Formation of Narrow Dust Rings in Circumstellar Debris Disks , 2006, astro-ph/0609248.

[74]  Alice C. Quillen,et al.  Predictions for a planet just inside Fomalhaut's eccentric ring , 2006, astro-ph/0605372.

[75]  B. Macintosh,et al.  Angular Differential Imaging: A Powerful High-Contrast Imaging Technique , 2005, astro-ph/0512335.

[76]  R. Malhotra,et al.  Neptune’s Migration into a Stirred-Up Kuiper Belt: A Detailed Comparison of Simulations to Observations , 2005, astro-ph/0507319.

[77]  Mark Clampin,et al.  A planetary system as the origin of structure in Fomalhaut's dust belt , 2005, Nature.

[78]  P. Plavchan,et al.  Where Are the M Dwarf Disks Older Than 10 Million Years? , 2005, astro-ph/0506132.

[79]  R. Bouwens,et al.  A Dynamical Simulation of the Debris Disk around HD 141569A , 2005, astro-ph/0503445.

[80]  Heidelberg,et al.  Dust Distribution in Gas Disks. II. Self-induced Ring Formation through a Clumping Instability , 2005, astro-ph/0502536.

[81]  David E. Trilling,et al.  Decay of Planetary Debris Disks , 2005 .

[82]  U. Gorti,et al.  Photoevaporation of Circumstellar Disks Due to External Far-Ultraviolet Radiation in Stellar Aggregates , 2004, astro-ph/0404383.

[83]  L. Waters,et al.  The age dependence of the Vega phenomenon: Observations , 2003, astro-ph/0308294.

[84]  S. Kenyon,et al.  Collisional Cascades in Planetesimal Disks. I. Stellar Flybys , 2001, astro-ph/0111384.

[85]  E. Becklin,et al.  The Circumstellar Disk of HD 141569 Imaged with NICMOS , 1999, The Astrophysical journal.

[86]  S. Dermott,et al.  How Observations of Circumstellar Disk Asymmetries Can Reveal Hidden Planets: Pericenter Glow and Its Application to the HR 4796 Disk , 1999, astro-ph/9908267.

[87]  G. Schwarz.  Estimating the Dimension of a Model , 1978 .

[88]  M. Barlow,et al.  UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Herschel images of Fomalhaut : an extrasolar Kuiper belt at the height of its dynamical activity , 2012 .