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HST/STIS imaging of Fomalhaut: New main belt structure and confirmation of Fomalhaut b's eccentric orbit

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2014

P. Kalas ,
J. R. Graham ,
M. P. Fitzgerald  and
M. Clampin
P. Kalas
Affiliation:
Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 email: kalas@berkeley.edu
J. R. Graham
Affiliation:
Astronomy Department, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 email: kalas@berkeley.edu
M. P. Fitzgerald
Affiliation:
Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
M. Clampin
Affiliation:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
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Abstract

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High contrast imaging observations with the Hubble Space Telescope show that the nearby star Fomalhaut is surrounded by a dusty debris belt and a candidate planet, Fomalhaut b, located just inside the edge of the belt. Fomalhaut b has unexpected characteristics, such as a relatively blue spectrum, leading to the hypothesis that the detected object is a low-mass planet hosting a giant planetary dust ring or cloud seen in reflected light. Here we present new HST/STIS observations made in 2010 and 2012 that authenticate the existence of Fomalhaut b. Our MCMC analysis of four epochs of astrometry spread over eight years indicate that the orbit has a~170 AU and e~0.85. Fomalhaut b's orbit is apsidally aligned with the main belt, and periapse is located approximately ~30 AU south of the star. We also show the existence of a ~50 AU wide azimuthal dust depletion in the dust belt. These new findings provide a revised picture of Fomalhaut as a dynamically complex system, where the orbit of Fomalhaut b and the belt structure signify the presence of additional massive planets orbiting the star.

Keywords

planets & satellites: individual: Fomalhaut b
Type
Contributed Papers
Information
Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 8 , Symposium S299: Exploring the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems , June 2013 , pp. 204 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2013 

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