We discuss how we obtain the spatial distribution of ice on the surface of the circumstellar disk around young stars. Ice in the disks plays a very important role in various issues, for instance, on the disk structure, on the planet formation, on the isotopic anomaly in meteorites, and on the origin of the sea on the Earth. Therefore, the spatially resolved observation of the condensation/sublimation front of ice, so-called ``snow line'' is strongly required. Here, we propose a new method for obtaining the spatially resolved ``snow line'' on the circumstellar disks by observing 3 \micron H$_2$O ice feature in the scattered light. Based on radiative transfer considerations, we show that the feature is clearly imprinted in the spectrum of the scattered light from both optically thick and thin circumstellar disks. We also show that the scattered light and the H$_2$O ice feature from protoplanetary disks are detectable and spatially resolvable with the current instruments through a $H_2O$ narrowband filter around 3 \micron. Finally, we present a diagnostics of disk dust properties on the $K-H_2O$ and $K-L'$ two color diagram.
Ground based imaging, imaging polarimetry, and recent Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 and NICMOS images of protostars have revealed very complex scattered light patterns that cannot be entirely explained by 2-D radiation transfer models. We present here for the first time radiation transfer models of T Tau and IRAS 04016+2610 that are fully 3-D, with the aim of investigating the effects on image morphology of multiple illuminating sources and infalling envelopes that have been shaped by multiple outflows. For T Tau we have constructed scattered light models where the illumination of the surroundi…
Near-infrared imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope recently revealed a circumstellar dust disk around the A star HD 32297. Dust scattered light is detected as far as 400 AU radius and the linear morphology is consistent with a disk ~10 degrees away from an edge-on orientation. Here we present the first optical images that show the dust scattered light morphology from 560 to 1680 AU radius. The position angle of the putative disk midplane diverges by 31 degrees and the color of dust scattering is most likely blue. We associate HD 32297 with a wall of interstellar gas and the enigmatic region…
We present the first multi-color view of the scattered light disk of the Herbig Ae star HD 163296, based on coronagraphic observations from the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). Radial profile fits of the surface brightness along the disk's semi-major axis indicates that the disk is not continuously flared, and extends to 540 AU. The disk's color (V-I)=1.1 at a radial distance of 3.5 arcseconds is redder than the observed stellar color (V-I)=0.15. This red disk color might be indicative of either an evolution in the grain size distribution (i.e. grain growth) and/or com…
We use a semi-analytic circumstellar disk model that considers movement of the snow line through evolution of accretion and the central star to investigate how gas giant frequency changes with stellar mass. The snow line distance changes weakly with stellar mass; thus giant planets form over a wide range of spectral types. The probability that a given star has at least one gas giant increases linearly with stellar mass from 0.4 M_sun to 3 M_sun. Stars more massive than 3 M_sun evolve quickly to the main-sequence, which pushes the snow line to 10-15 AU before protoplanets form and limits the ra…
We present the first high angular resolution 1.4mm and 2.7mm continuum maps of the T Tauri binary system HK Tau obtained with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer. The contributions of both components are well disentangled at 1.4mm and the star previously known to host an edge-on circumstellar disk, HK Tau B, is elongated along the disk's major axis. The optically bright primary dominates the thermal emission from the system at both wavelengths, confirming that it also has its own circumstellar disk. Its non-detection in scattered light images indicates that the two disks in this binary system a…
Scattered light echoes from variable and cataclysmic stars offer one of the most effective means to probe the structure and composition of circumtellar and interstellar media. I build a simple model of light-echo surface brightness by considering the source spectrum, and the dust density, geometry, and scattering efficiency. I use this model to investigate whether echoes should be observable around short and long-period giants, cataclysmic variables, and supernovae. Only supernovae are expected to illuminate material on both circumstellar and interstellar scales. Giant and post-AGB stars (e.g.…
We present deep IRAC images that highlight the scattered light emission around many of the youngest protostars, the so-called Class 0 sources, in L1448. By comparison of the data with a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code \citep{whitney2003a}, we demonstrate for the first time that the observed infrared light from these objects is consistent with scattered light from the central protostar. The scattered light escapes out the cavity, carved by molecular outflows, in the circumstellar envelope. In particular, we observe prominent scattered light nebulae associated with the Class 0 sources: L1448…
We present Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Near-Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer (NICMOS) observations of the reflection nebulosity associated with the T Tauri star HH 30. The images show the scattered light pattern characteristic of a highly inclined, optically thick disk with a prominent dustlane whose width decreases with increasing wavelength. The reflected nebulosity exhibits a lateral asymmetry in the upper lobe on the opposite side to that reported in previously published Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) images. The radiation transfer model which most closely reproduces t…
We present recent near-infrared detections of circumstellar disks around the two old PMS Herbig stars HD 141569 and HD 100546 obtained with the HST/NICMOS2 camera. They reveal extended structures larger than 350-400 AU in radius. While the HD 100546 disk appears as a continuous disk down to 40 AU, the HD 141569 environment seems more complex, splitted at least into two dust populations. As a convincing example, the full modeling of the disk surrounding HR 4796, another old PMS star, is detailed and confronted with more recent observations.
We report the first resolved scattered light images of the circumstellar dust disk around the old Pre-Main Sequence star HD 141569 A. The disk seen in HST/NICMOS2 images shapes a bright annulus inclined at 37.5 degrees +/- 4.5 degrees from edge-on. This ring peaks at 325+/-10 AU from the star with a characteristic width of ~150 AU. At 1.6 microns, the dust grains scatter a total flux density of at least 4.5 +/- 0.5 mJy. Our disk model using the spatial distribution implied by the images does not explain the 10 microns excess and requires an additional grain population closer to the star. Some …
We present the first spatially resolved spectrum of scattered light from the TW Hydrae protoplanetary disk. This nearly face-on disk is optically thick, surrounding a classical T Tauri star in the nearby 10 Myr old TW Hya association. The spectrum was taken with the HST-STIS CCD, providing resolution R ~ 360 over the wavelength range 5250 - 10300 A. Spatially resolved spectroscopy of circumstellar disks is difficult due to the high contrast ratio between the bright star and faint disk. Our novel observations provide optical spectra of scattered light from the disk between 40 AU and 155 AU from…
We present the results of a coronagraphic scattered-light imaging survey of six young disk candidate stars using the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys. The observations made use of the 1.8" occulting spot through the F606W (broad V) filter. Circumstellar material was imaged around HD 97048, a Herbig Ae/Be star located in the Chamaeleon I dark cloud at a distance of 180 pc. The material is seen between ~2" (360 AU) and ~4" (720 AU) from the star in all directions. A V-band azimuthally-averaged radial surface brightness profile peaks at r = 2" with a value of 19.6 +/- 0.2 mag ar…
Keck adaptive optics imaging with a physical resolution of 0.4 AU resolves the inner (15-80 AU) disk of AU Mic (GJ 803), the nearest known scattered light disk to Earth. The inner disk is asymmetric and possesses a sharp change in structure at 35 AU. The disk also shows spatially localized enhancements and deficits at 25-40 AU separations. The overall morphology points to the influence of unseen larger bodies and resembles structures expected from recent planet formation. AU Mic is coeval with the archetypical debris disk system beta Pic, and the similarities between their two disks point to s…
An explanation is given of the low value of $R_λ\equiv A_λ/E(B-V) $, the ratio of absolute to selective extinction deduced from Type Ia supernova observations. The idea involves scattering by dust clouds located in the circumstellar environment, or at the highest velocity shells of the supernova ejecta. The scattered light tends to reduce the effective $R_λ$ in the optical, but has an opposite effect in the ultraviolet. The presence of circumstellar dust can be tested by ultraviolet to near infrared observations and by multi-epoch spectropolarimetry of SNe Ia.
Using the Advanced Camera for Surveys aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, we have discovered dust-scattered light from the debris disk surrounding the F2V star HD 15745. The circumstellar disk is detected between 2.0" and 7.5" radius, corresponding to 128 - 480 AU radius. The circumstellar disk morphology is asymmetric about the star, resembling a fan, and consistent with forward scattering grains in an optically thin disk with an inclination of ~67 degrees to our line of sight. The spectral energy distribution and scattered light morphology can be approximated with a model disk composed of sil…
In this paper, we calculate simulated scattered light images of a circumstellar disk in which a planet is forming by gravitational instability. The simulated images bear no correlation to the vertically integrated surface density of the disk, but rather trace the density structure in the tenuous upper layers of the disk. Although the density at high altitudes does not bear a direct relation to activity at the midplane, the very existence of structure at high altitudes along with high time variability is an indicator of gravitational instability within the disk. The timescale for variations is …
We propose that the two armed spiral features seen in visible Hubble Space Telescope images of scattered light in HD100546's circumstellar disk are caused by the illumination of a warped outer disk. A tilt of 6-15 degrees from the symmetry plane can cause the observed surface brightness variations providing the disk is very twisted (highly warped) at radii greater than 200 AU where the spiral features are seen. Dust lanes are due in part to shadowing in the equatorial plane from the inner disk within a radius of 100 AU. HD100546's outer disk, if viewed edge-on, would appear similar to that of …
We investigate in details the properties of the disk surrounding the 8 Myr old star HR 4796A, one of the few stars bringing precious clues to better understand the scenario which lead to planetary system formation. We propose a model able to reproduce all the available observations : the full spectral energy distribution from the mid-infrared to the millimeter wavelengths, resolved scattered light and thermal emission observations. We show that the circumstellar matter splits into two dust components : a cold annulus, peaked at 70 AU from the star, made of ISM-like grains (amorphous compositio…
We present ground-based near-infrared (H-band) imaging of the circumstellar disk around the nearby classical T Tauri star TW Hydrae. The scattered light image shows a face-on disk with radius 4 arcseconds (corresponding to 225 AU) and a morphology which agrees with recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Array. The best fit power-law for the disk's radial surface brightness profile obeys the law r^{-3.3\pm0.3}. We use our image and published continuum flux densities to derive properties of the disk with a simple model of emission from an optically thick, flat disk. The…
Observations at 70 microns with the Spitzer Space Telescope have detected several stellar systems within 65 pc of the Sun. Of 18 presumably young systems detected in this study, as many as 15 have 70-micron emission in excess of that expected from their stellar photospheres. Five of the systems with excesses are members of the Tucanae Association. The 70-micron excesses range from a factor of ~2 to nearly 30 times the expected photospheric emission from these stars. In contrast to the 70-micron properties of these systems, there is evidence for an emission excess at 24 microns for only HD 3003…
Scattered light images of the optically thin dust disk around the 5 Myr old star HD141569 have revealed its complex asymmetric structure. We show in this paper that the surface density inferred from the observations presents similarities with that expected from a circumprimary disk within a highly eccentric binary system. We assume that either the two M stars in the close vicinity of HD141569 are bound companions or at least one of them is an isolated binary companion. We discuss the resulting interaction with an initially axisymmetric disk. This scenario accounts for the formation of a spiral…
We have modelled the circumstellar envelope of {\it o} Ceti (Mira) using new observational constraints. These are obtained from photospheric light scattered in near-IR vibrational-rotational lines of circumstellar CO molecules at 4.6 micron: absolute fluxes, the radial dependence of the scattered intensity, and two line ratios. Further observational constraints are provided by ISO observations of far-IR emission lines from highly excited rotational states of the ground vibrational state of CO, and radio observations of lines from rotational levels of low excitation of CO. A code based on the M…
We present observations of a circumstellar disk that is inclined close to edge-on around a young brown dwarf in the Taurus star-forming region. Using data obtained with SpeX at the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility, we find that the slope of the 0.8-2.5 um spectrum of the brown dwarf 2MASS J04381486+2611399 cannot be reproduced with a photosphere reddened by normal extinction. Instead, the slope is consistent with scattered light, indicating that circumstellar material is occulting the brown dwarf. By combining the SpeX data with mid-IR photometry and spectroscopy from the Spitzer Space Telesco…
We present here new results on circumstellar nebulosity around SU Aurigae, a T-Tauri star of about 2 solar mass and 5 Myrs old at 152 pc in the J, H and K bands using high resolution adaptive optics imaging (0$\farcs$30) with the Penn state IR Imaging Spectrograph (PIRIS) at the 100 inch Mt. Wilson telescope. A comparison with HST STIS optical (0.2 to 1.1 micron) images shows that the orientation of the circumstellar nebulosity in the near-IR extends from PAs 210 to 270 degrees in H and K bands and up to 300 degrees in the J band. We call the circumstellar nebulosity seen between 210 to 270 de…
The imaging of disks around young stars presents extreme challenges in high dynamic range, angular resolution, and sensitivity. Recent instrumental advances have met these challenges admirably, leading to a marked increase in imaging discoveries. These have opened up a new era in studies of the origin of planetary systems. Questions about our own solar system's formation, and of the prevalence of extra-solar planets, are now addressed with complementary techniques at different wavelengths. Optical and near-infrared images detail scattered light from disks at the highest possible resolution. Mi…
We present new near-infrared (1.1-micron) observations of the circumstellar environment of the planet-bearing star 55 Cancri. With these Hubble Space Telescope images we are unable to confirm the observation of bright scattered radiation at longer NIR wavelengths previously reported by Trilling & Brown (1998), and Trilling, Brown & Rivkin (2000). NICMOS coronagraphic images with detection sensitivities to ~ 100 microJy arcsec$^{-2}$ at 1.1 microns in the region 28 - 60 AU from the star fail to reveal any significant excess flux in point- spread-function (PSF) subtracted images taken in two Hub…
We present an H-band image of the light scattered from circumstellar dust around the nearby (10 pc) young M star AU Microscopii (AU Mic, GJ 803, HD 197481), obtained with the Keck adaptive optics system. We resolve the disk both vertically and radially, tracing it over 17-60 AU from the star. Our AU Mic observations thus offer the possibility to probe at high spatial resolution (0.04" or 0.4 AU per resolution element) for morphological signatures of the debris disk on Solar-System scales. Various sub-structures (dust clumps and gaps) in the AU Mic disk may point to the existence of orbiting pl…
We have observed the intermediate regions of the circumstellar envelope of Mira (o Ceti) in photospheric light scattered by three vibration-rotation transitions of the fundamental band of CO, from low-excited rotational levels of the ground vibrational state, at an angular distance of beta = 2"-7" away from the star. The data were obtained with the Phoenix spectrometer mounted on the 4 m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak. The spatial resolution is approximately 0.5" and seeing limited. Our observations provide absolute fluxes, leading to an independent new estimate of the mass-loss rate of approxi…
We have discovered an optically thick, edge-on circumstellar disk around a Herbig Ae star in the binary system PDS 144, providing the first intermediate-mass analog of HK Tau and similar T Tauris. This system consists of a V ~ 13 mag. primary and a fainter companion, with spectra of both stars showing evidence for circumstellar disks and accretion; both stars were classified as Herbig Aes by the Pico dos Dias survey. In Lick adaptive optics polarimetry, we resolved extended polarized light scattered from dust around the northern star. Followup Keck adaptive optics and mid-infrared observations…
The connection between the formation and growth of planetesimals into larger bodies and the circumstellar debris disks around young and nascent stars from which they arise has been the subject of continual speculation, discussion and inquiry, since the original scenario for such evolution was first expanded upon by Laplace (1796) following the general proposition by Kant (1755). NICMOS coronagraphy has enabled both the direct imaging of such circumstellar disks seen in scattered light about more mature stars (other than b Pictoris) exhibiting morphologically resolved spatial features, and the …
Circumstellar disks provide the material reservoir for the growth of young stars and for planet formation. We combine a high-level radiative transfer program with a thermal-chemical model of a typical T Tauri star disk to investigate the diagnostic potential of the far-infrared lines of water for probing disk structure. We discuss the observability of pure rotational H2O lines with the Herschel Space Observatory, specifically the residual gas where water is mainly frozen out. We find that measuring both the line profile of the ground 110-101 ortho-H2O transition and the ratio of this line to t…
We present Halpha spectropolarimetry observations of a sample of 10 bright T Tauri stars, supplemented with new Herbig Ae/Be star data. A change in the linear polarisation across Halpha is detected in most of the T Tauri (9/10) and Herbig Ae (9/11) objects, which we interpret in terms of a compact source of line photons that is scattered off a rotating accretion disk. We find consistency between the position angle (PA) of the polarisation and those of imaged disk PAs from infrared and millimetre imaging and interferometry studies, probing much larger scales. For the Herbig Ae stars AB Aur, MWC…
We report the discovery in NIR with SofI at the NTT of a resolved circumstellar dust disk around a 2MASS source at the periphery of the rho Ophiuchi dark cloud. We present follow-up observations in J, H, and Ks-band obtained with ISAAC at the VLT, under 0.4"-seeing conditions, which unveil a dark dust lane oriented East-West between two characteristic northern and southern reflection nebulae. This new circumstellar dust disk has a radius of 2.15" (300 AU at 140 pc), and a width of 1.2" (170 AU at 140 pc). Thanks to its location at the periphery of the dense cores, it suffers small foreground v…
We present HST/NICMOS observations with 0.1" (15 AU) resolution of six young stellar objects in the Taurus star-formation region. The targets of our survey are three Class I IRAS sources (IRAS 04016+2610, IRAS 04248+2612, and IRAS 04302+2247) and three low-luminosity stars (DG Tau B, Haro 6-5B, and CoKu Tau/1) associated with Herbig Haro jets. The broad-band images show that the near-infrared radiation from these sources is dominated by light scattered from dusty circumstellar material distributed in a region 10 - 15 times the size of our solar system. Although the detailed morphologies of the…
The dust shell around the evolved star HD 179821 has been detected in scattered light in near-IR imaging polarimetry observations. Here, we subtract the contribution of the unpolarized stellar light to obtain an intrinsic linear polarization of between 30 and 40 per cent in the shell which seems to increase with radial offset from the star. The J and K band data are modelled using a scattering code to determine the shell parameters and dust properties. We find that the observations are well described by a spherically symmetric distribution of dust with an inverse square density law, indicating…
We discuss the properties of several circumstellar debris disk systems imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer in a survey of young stars with known far-IR excesses. These dusty disks around young ($\sim$ 5--8 Myr) unembedded stars exhibit morphological anisotropies and other characteristics which are suggestive of recent or on-going planet formation. We consider evidence for the evolution of populations of collisionally produced disk grains in light of the significant presence of remnant primordial gas in the optically thick disk of the clas…
We present the first visible wavelength images of the GG Tauri circumbinary ring, obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Scattered light from the ring is detected in both V and I band images. The images show that the ring is smooth, except for a small gap that could be a shadow caused by material between the stars and the ring. The spokes seen extending from the stars to the ring in ground-based adaptive optics images are not seen in our data, which suggests that they may be image artifacts. The nearside/farside surface brightness ratio is 6.9 in I band, …
We report the first near infrared (NIR) imaging of a circumstellar annular disk around the young (~8 Myr), Vega-like star, HR 4796A. NICMOS coronagraph observations at 1.1 and 1.6 microns reveal a ring-like symmetrical structure peaking in reflected intensity 1.05 arcsec +/- 0.02 arcsec (~ 70 AU) from the central A0V star. The ring geometry, with an inclination of 73.1 deg +/- 1.2 deg and a major axis PA of 26.8 deg +/- 0.6 deg, is in good agreement with recent 12.5 and 20.8 micron observations of a truncated disk (Koerner, et al. 1998). The ring is resolved with a characteristic width of less…
(abridged) We present new Keck images at 0.9 micron and OVRO 1.3 mm continuum images of five Class I protostars in the Taurus star forming region. We analyze these data in conjunction with broadband spectral energy distributions and 8-13 micron spectra from the literature using a Monte Carlo radiative transfer code. By fitting models for the circumstellar dust distributions simultaneously to the scattered light images, millimeter continuum data, and the SEDs, we attempt to distinguish between flared disks, infalling envelopes with outflow cavities, and combinations of disks and envelopes. For …
Only a handful of debris disks have been imaged up to now. Due to the need for high dynamic range and high angular resolution, very little is known about the inner planetary region, where small amounts of warm dust are expected to be found. We investigate the close neighbourhood of Vega with the help of infrared stellar interferometry and estimate the integrated K-band flux originating from the central 8 AU of the debris disk. We performed precise visibility measurements at both short (~30 m) and long (~150 m) baselines with the FLUOR beam-combiner installed at the CHARA Array (Mt Wilson, Cali…
We present observations of the young stars TW Hya and HD 100546 made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array at 89 GHz with $\sim2''$ resolution and $\sim3$ mJy continuum sensitivity. Compact thermal dust continuum emission is detected from disks surrounding both stars. HD 100546 also shows hints of extended emission, presumably a residual protostellar envelope, which is also visible in scattered light at optical wavelengths. For TW Hya, HCO$^+$ J=1--0 line emission from the circumstellar disk is detected and spatially resolved. The observed size and intensity are in good agreement with mod…
In this paper we present and discuss the effects of scattered light echoes (LE) on the luminosity and spectral appearance of Type Ia Supernovae (SNe). After introducing the basic concepts of LE spectral synthesis, by means of LE models and real observations we investigate the deviations from pure SN spectra, light and colour curves, the signatures that witness the presence of a LE and the possible inferences on the extinction law. The effects on the photometric parameters and spectral features are also discussed. In particular, for the case of circumstellar dust, LEs are found to introduce an …
We present emission line polarimetry data and modelling relevant to the circumstellar geometry and kinematics around pre-main sequence stars. For a sample of both Herbig Ae/Be stars and T Tauri stars, we find that most show polarization changes across Halpha, implying that flattened structures are common on the smallest scales -- and over a range of stellar masses. We also present Monte Carlo calculations of spectral line profiles scattered in rotating accretion disks. We consider both the case of a central star that emits line photons uniformly, as well as via hot spots. Intriguingly, the swi…