Jinyoung Serena Kim

The Complete Census of 70 μm-Bright Debris Disks within “The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems” Spitzer Legacy Survey of Sun-like Stars

We report detection of cool dust surrounding solar-type stars from observations performed as part of the Spitzer Legacy Science Program FEPS. From a sample of 328 stars having ages ~0.003-3 Gyr we have selected sources with 70 μm flux densities indicating excess in their SEDs above expected photospheric emission. Six strong excess sources are likely primordial circumstellar disks, remnants of the star formation process. Another 25 sources having ≥3 σ excesses are associated with dusty debris disks, generated by collisions within planetesimal belts that are possibly stirred by existing planets. Six additional sources with ≥2 σ excesses require confirmation as debris disks. In our analysis, most (>80%) 70 μm excess sources have ≥3 σ excesses at 33 μm as well, while only a minority ( 1/3 of the debris sources we find that multiple temperature components are suggested, implying a dust distribution extending over many tens of AU. Because the disks are dominated by collisional processes, the parent body (planetesimal) belts may be extended as well. Preliminary assessment of the statistics of cold debris around Sun-like stars shows that ~10% of FEPS targets with masses between 0.6 and 1.8 M☉ and ages between 30 Myr and 3 Gyr exhibit excess 70 μm emission. We find that fractional excess amplitudes appear higher for younger stars and that there may be a trend in 70 μm excess frequency with stellar mass.

FORMATION AND EVOLUTION OF PLANETARY SYSTEMS: PROPERTIES OF DEBRIS DUST AROUND SOLAR-TYPE STARS

We present Spitzer photometric (IRAC and MIPS) and spectroscopic (IRS low resolution) observations for 314 stars in the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems Legacy program. These data are used to investigate the properties and evolution of circumstellar dust around solar-type stars spanning ages from approximately 3 Myr-3 Gyr. We identify 46 sources that exhibit excess infrared emission above the stellar photosphere at 24 μm, and 21 sources with excesses at 70 μm. Five sources with an infrared excess have characteristics of optically thick primordial disks, while the remaining sources have properties akin to debris systems. The fraction of systems exhibiting a 24 μm excess greater than 10.2% above the photosphere is 15% for ages < 300 Myr and declines to 2.7% for older ages. The upper envelope to the 70 μm fractional luminosity appears to decline over a similar age range. The characteristic temperature of the debris inferred from the IRS spectra range between 60 and 180 K, with evidence for the presence of cooler dust to account for the strength of the 70 μm excess emission. No strong correlation is found between dust temperature and stellar age. Comparison of the observational data with disk models containing a power-law distribution of silicate grains suggests that the typical inner-disk radius is ≳10 AU. Although the interpretation is not unique, the lack of excess emission shortward of 16 μm and the relatively flat distribution of the 24 μm excess for ages ≾300 Myr is consistent with steady-state collisional models.

Are Debris Disks and Massive Planets Correlated

Using data from the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Science Program Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS), we have searched for debris disks around nine FGK stars (2-10 Gyr), known from radial velocity (RV) studies to have one or more massive planets. Only one of the sources, HD 38529, has excess emission above the stellar photosphere; at 70 μm the signal-to-noise ratio in the excess is 4.7, while at λ < 30 μm there is no evidence of excess. The remaining sources show no excesses at any Spitzer wavelengths. Applying survival tests to the FEPS sample and the results for the FGK survey recently published in Bryden et al., we do not find a significant correlation between the frequency and properties of debris disks and the presence of close-in planets. We discuss possible reasons for the lack of a correlation.

The formation and evolution of planetary systems: Placing our solar system in context with Spitzer

We provide an overview of the Spitzer Legacy Program, Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems, that was proposed in 2000, begun in 2001, and executed aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2003 and 2006. This program exploits the sensitivity of Spitzer to carry out mid-infrared spectrophotometric observations of solar-type stars. With a sample of ~328 stars ranging in age from ~3 Myr to ~3 Gyr, we trace the evolution of circumstellar gas and dust from primordial planet-building stages in young circumstellar disks through to older collisionally generated debris disks. When completed, our program will help define the timescales over which terrestrial and gas giant planets are built, constrain the frequency of planetesimal collisions as a function of time, and establish the diversity of mature planetary architectures. In addition to the observational program, we have coordinated a concomitant theoretical effort aimed at understanding the dynamics of circumstellar dust with and without the effects of embedded planets, dust spectral energy distributions, and atomic and molecular gas line emission. Together with the observations, these efforts will provide an astronomical context for understanding whether our solar system—and its habitable planet—is a common or a rare circumstance. Additional information about the FEPS project can be found on the team Web site.

The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS): Discovery of an Unusual Debris System Associated with HD 12039

We report the discovery of a debris system associated with the ~30 Myr old G3/5V star HD 12039 using Spitzer Space Telescope observations from 3.6-160 μm. An observed infrared excess (L_(IR)/L^* = 1 × 10^(-4)) above the expected photosphere for λ ≳ 14 μm is fit by thermally emitting material with a color temperature of T ~ 110 K, warmer than the majority of debris disks identified to date around Sun-like stars. The object is not detected at 70 μm with a 3 σ upper limit 6 times the expected photospheric flux. The spectrum of the infrared excess can be explained by warm, optically thin material comprised of blackbody-like grains of size ≳ 7 μm that reside in a belt orbiting the star at 4-6 AU. An alternate model dominated by smaller grains, near the blowout size ɑ ~ 0.5 μm, located at 30-40 AU is also possible but requires the dust to have been produced recently, since such small grains will be expelled from the system by radiation pressure in approximately a few times 10^2 yr.

Formation and evolution of planetary systems: Cold outer disks associated with Sun-like stars

We present the discovery of debris systems around three Sun-like stars based on observations performed with the Spitzer Space Telescope as part of a Legacy Science Program, The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS). We also confirm the presence of debris around two other stars. All the stars exhibit infrared emission in excess of the expected photospheres in the 70 ?m band but are consistent with photospheric emission at ?33 ?m. This restricts the maximum temperature of debris in equilibrium with the stellar radiation to T < 70 K. We find that these sources are relatively old in the FEPS sample, in the age range 0.7-3 Gyr. On the basis of models of the spectral energy distributions, we suggest that these debris systems represent materials generated by collisions of planetesimal belts. We speculate on the nature of these systems through comparisons to our own Kuiper Belt, and on the possible presence of planet(s) responsible for stirring the system and ultimately releasing dust through collisions. We further report observations of a nearby star HD 13974 (d = 11 pc) that are indistinguishable from a bare photosphere at both 24 and 70 ?m. The observations place strong upper limits on the presence of any cold dust in this nearby system (LIR/L < 10-5.2).

YOUNG STELLAR OBJECTS IN LYNDS 1641: DISKS, ACCRETION, AND STAR FORMATION HISTORY

We investigate the young stellar objects (YSOs) in the Lynds 1641 (L1641) cloud using multi-wavelength data including Spitzer, WISE, the Two Micron All Sky Survey, and XMM covering similar to 1390 YSOs across a range of evolutionary stages. In addition, we targeted a sub-sample of YSOs for optical spectroscopy with the MMT/Hectospec and the MMT/Hectochelle. We use these data, along with archival photometric data, to derive spectral types, extinction values, masses, ages, and accretion rates. We obtain a disk fraction of similar to 50% in L1641. The disk frequency is almost constant as a function of stellar mass with a slight peak at log(M-*/M-circle dot) approximate to -0.25. The analysis of multi-epoch spectroscopic data indicates that the accretion variability of YSOs cannot explain the two orders of magnitude of scatter for YSOs with similar masses. Forty-six new transition disk (TD) objects are confirmed in this work, and we find that the fraction of accreting TDs is lower than for optically thick disks (40%-45% versus 77%-79%, respectively). We confirm our previous result that the accreting TDs have a median accretion rate similar to normal optically thick disks. We confirm that two star formation modes (isolated versus clustered) exist in L1641. We find that the diskless YSOs are statistically older than the YSOs with optically thick disks and the TD objects have a median age that is intermediate between those of the other two populations. We tentatively study the star formation history in L1641 based on the age distribution and find that star formation started to be active 2-3 Myr ago.

The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Description of the Spitzer Legacy Science Database

We present the science database produced by the Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems (FEPS) Spitzer Legacy program. Data reduction and validation procedures for the IRAC, MIPS, and IRS instruments are described in detail. We also derive stellar properties for the FEPS sample from available broadband photometry and spectral types, and present an algorithm to normalize Kurucz synthetic spectra to optical and near-infrared photometry. The final FEPS data products include IRAC and MIPS photometry for each star in the FEPS sample and calibrated IRS spectra.

The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: First Results from a Spitzer Legacy Science Program

We present 3–160 � m photometry obtained with the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) and Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS) instruments for the first five targets from the Spitzer Space Telescope Legacy Science Program ‘‘Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems’’ and 4–35 � m spectrophotometry obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) for two sources. We discuss in detail our observations of the debris disks surrounding HD 105 (G0 V, 30 � 10 Myr) and HD 150706 (G3 V, � 700 � 300 Myr). For HD 105, possible interpretations include large bodies clearing the dust inside of 45 AU or a reservoir of gas capable of sculpting the dust distribution. The disk surrounding HD 150706 also exhibits evidence of a large inner hole in its dust distribution. Of the four survey targets without previously detected IR excess, spanning ages 30 Myr to 3 Gyr, the new detection of excess in just one system of intermediate age suggests a variety of initial conditions or divergent evolutionary paths for debris disk systems orbiting solar-type stars. Subject heading gs: circumstellar matter — infrared: stars — planetary systems: protoplanetary disks

SEJONG OPEN CLUSTER SURVEY (SOS). 0. TARGET SELECTION AND DATA ANALYSIS

Star clusters are superb astrophysical laboratories containing cospatial and coeval samples of stars with similar chemical composition. We initiate the Sejong Open cluster Survey (SOS) - a project dedicated to providing homogeneous photometry of a large number of open clusters in the SAAO Johnson-Cousin’ UBVI system. To achieve our main goal, we pay much attention to the observation of standard stars in order to reproduce the SAAO standard system. Many of our targets are relatively small sparse clusters that escaped previous observations. As clusters are considered building blocks of the Galactic disk, their physical properties such as the initial mass function, the pattern of mass segregation, etc. give valuable information on the formation and evolution of the Galactic disk. The spatial distribution of young open clusters will be used to revise the local spiral arm structure of the Galaxy. In addition, the homogeneous data can also be used to test stellar evolutionary theory, especially concerning rare massive stars. In this paper we present the target selection criteria, the observational strategy for accurate photometry, and the adopted calibrations for data analysis such as color-color relations, zero-age main sequence relations, Sp-Mv relations, Sp ? T eff relations, Sp ? color relations, and T eff ? BC relations. Finally we provide some data analysis such as the determination of the reddening law, the membership selection criteria, and distance determination.