2007/06/14 by Thayne Currie, Scott J. Kenyon, George Rieke +2 · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/520509
published as Astrophys. J. Lett. 663 (2007) 105 · 5 pages, 3 figures, Matched to published version, Astrophysical Journal Letters, in press: 2007, ApJL, 663, 105
openalex publication_date 2007/06/14 · arxiv created 2007/06/28 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We analyze eight sources with strong mid-infrared excesses in the 13 Myr old double cluster h and χ Persei. New optical spectra and broadband spectral energy distributions (SEDs; 0.36-8 μm) are consistent with cluster membership. We show that the material with T ~ 300-400 K and L d / L ⋆ ~ 10 -4 to 10 -3 produces the excesses in these sources. Optically thick blackbody disk models, including those with large inner holes, do not match the observed SEDs. The SEDs of optically thin debris disks produced from terrestrial planet formation calculations match the observations well. Thus, some h and χ Persei stars may have debris from terrestrial zone planet formation.