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Context. Dusty discs detected around main-sequence stars are thought to be signs of planetesimal belts in which the dust distribution is shaped by collisional and dynamical processes, including interactions with gas if present. The debris disc around the young A-type star HD 131835 is composed of two dust rings at ∼65 au and ∼100 au, a third unconstrained innermost component, and a gaseous component centred at ∼65 au. New ALMA observations show that the inner of the two dust rings is brighter than the outer one, in contrast with previous observations in scattered light. Aims. We explore two scenarios that could explain these observations: the two dust rings might represent distinct planetesimal belts with different collisional properties, or only the inner ring might contain planetesimals while the outer ring consists entirely of dust that has migrated outwards due to gas drag. Methods. To explore the first scenario, we employed a state-of-the-art collisional evolution code. To test the second scenario, we used a simple dynamical model of dust grain evolution in an optically thin gaseous disc. In each case we identified the parameters of the planetesimal and the gaseous disc that best reproduce the observational constraints. Results. Collisional models of two planetesimal belts cannot fully reproduce the observations by only varying their dynamical excitation, and matching the data through a different material strength requires an extreme difference in dust composition. The gas-driven scenario can reproduce the location of the outer ring and the brightness ratio of the two rings from scattered light observations, but the resulting outer ring is too faint overall in both scattered light and sub-millimetre emission. Conclusions. The dust rings in HD 131835 could be produced from two planetesimal belts, although how these belts would attain the required extremely different properties needs to be explained. The dust-gas interaction is a plausible alternative explanation and deserves further study using a more comprehensive model.
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This content will become publicly available on January 1, 2027
The ALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS): IX. Gas-driven origin for the continuum arc in the debris disc of HD121617
Context. Debris discs were long considered to be largely gas-free environments, where dynamical evolution is governed primarily by collisional fragmentation, gravitational stirring, and radiative forces. Recent detections of CO molecular line emission in debris discs demonstrate that gas is present, but its abundance and origin are still uncertain. TheALMA survey to Resolve exoKuiper belt Substructures (ARKS)observed both the gas and dust of several debris discs at high resolution and revealed a narrow ring of gas and dust in the disc HD 121617, with an asymmetric arc-like feature that is 40% brighter than the rest of the ring. Aims. An important open question is how representative the estimated CO masses are for the total gas mass in debris discs. We aim to constrain the total gas mass in HD 121617 using numerical models under the assumption that the dust arc is produced by hydrodynamical processes involving the gas. Methods. We used the hydrodynamical code Dusty FARGO-ADSG, in which dust is modelled as Lagrangian particles. We explored the effects of radiation pressure and dust feedback, as well as of varying the total gas mass on the dynamical evolution of the system. We compared these simulations with observations via radiative transfer calculations. Results. We find that an unstable gas ring can create a size-dependent radial and azimuthal dust trap. The total gas mass dictates the efficiency of particle trapping as a function of grain size. We find that two of our models,Mgas=50M⊕andMgas=5M⊕, can simultaneously reproduce the observed arc in the ALMA band 7 continuum image and the radial outward offset of the VLT/SPHERE scattered light ring, driven by the combined effects of gas drag and radiation pressure. We further find a conservative lower limit ofMgas>2.5M⊕and a conservative upper limit ofMgas<250M⊕. Conclusions. If the ALMA band 7 asymmetry is caused by gas drag, reconciling the required gas mass with the observed12CO emission suggests the presence of significant amounts of H2, consistent with the gas being primordial, that is, long-lived remnant material from the protoplanetary disc phase. In this scenario, HD 121617 would represent a hybrid disc, bridging the protoplanetary and debris disc stages. As an arc-shaped emission can alternatively be reproduced by a planet’s gravitational forcing, future observations are crucial to distinguish between these two scenarios.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2307920
- PAR ID:
- 10700935
- Author(s) / Creator(s):
- ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; more »
- Publisher / Repository:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Astronomy & Astrophysics
- Volume:
- 705
- ISSN:
- 0004-6361
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- A203
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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