Protoplanetary Disk Mass Distribution in Young
Binaries
Accepted by The Astrophysical Journal; to appear Feb. 2003
Eric L. N. Jensen
Swarthmore College
Department of Physics and Astronomy
500
College Ave.
Swarthmore, PA 19081 USA
Rachel L. Akeson
Interferometry Science Center
Caltech
MS 100-22,
1201 E. California Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
Abstract
We present millimeter-wave continuum images of four wide
(separations 210--800 AU) young stellar binary systems in the
Taurus-Auriga star-forming region. For all four sources, the
resolution of our observations is sufficient to determine the mm
emission from each of the components. In all four systems, the
primary star's disk has stronger millimeter emission than the
secondary and in three of the four, the secondary is undetected;
this is consistent with predictions of recent models of binary
formation by fragmentation. The primaries' circumstellar disk masses
inferred from these observations are comparable to those found for
young single stars, confirming that the presence of a wide binary
companion does not prevent the formation of a protoplanetary disk.
Some of the secondaries show signatures of accretion (H
emission and K - L excesses), yet their mm fluxes suggest that
very little disk mass is present.
Back to my publications page.
Eric Jensen <ejensen1@swarthmore.edu>
Last modified: Wed Nov 6 15:17:10 2002