MINDS: Detection of an Inner Gas Disk Caused by Evaporating Bodies around HD 172555

Abstract Mechanisms such as collisions of rocky bodies or cometary activity give rise to dusty debris disks. Debris disks trace the leftover building blocks of planets, and thus also planetary composition. HD 172555, a stellar twin of β Pic, hosts a debris disk thought to have resulted from a giant collision. It is known for its extreme mid-infrared silica dust feature, indicating a warm population of silica-rich grains in the asteroid belt (∼5 au), cold CO observed by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and small bodies evaporating as they approach close to the star. Our JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument/Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MIRI MRS) observations now reveal emission from an inner gaseous disk (<0.5 au) that arises from the evaporation of close-in material. For the first time in a debris disk, we detect neutral atomic chlorine and sulfur, as well as ionized nickel. We recovered the neutral sulfur line in ∼20 yr old Spitzer data, showing it is long-lived and stable. Ionized iron, previously seen only in β Pic, is also detected. All lines are broadened by Keplerian rotation, pinpointing the gas location. The HD 172555 system serves as a unique laboratory to study the composition of planetesimals, asteroids, and comets beyond the solar system. The comparison to β Pic reveals that the gas in HD 172555 is hotter, closer to the star, and poor in argon—suggesting it originates from evaporating rocky bodies near the star, while β Pic’s gas may trace volatile-rich bodies from larger separations.

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Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal
Published
2025-08-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade2db
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Astro and Planetary Science
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.62

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article

MINDS: Detection of an Inner Gas Disk Caused by Evaporating Bodies around HD 172555

Hyerin Jang, M. Guêdel, Milou Temmink, J. S. Kanwar et al.
4 citations
The Astrophysical Journal
Astro and Planetary Science
4.62
article

MINDS: Detection of an Inner Gas Disk Caused by Evaporating Bodies around HD 172555

Hyerin Jang, M. Guêdel, Milou Temmink, J. S. Kanwar, T. Giannini, Nicole Pawellek, A. Caratti o Garatti, J. Bouwman, Aditya M. Arabhavi, Rens Waters, Kamber R. Schwarz, D. Semenov, E. F. van Dishoeck, Olivier Absil, Valentin Christiaens, Benoît Tabone, D. Barrado, I. Kamp, Sierra L. Grant, Giulia Perotti, M. Samland, G. Olofsson, Thomas Henning, A. Boccaletti, Till Kaeufer, Danny Gasman
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Abstract Mechanisms such as collisions of rocky bodies or cometary activity give rise to dusty debris disks. Debris disks trace the leftover building blocks of planets, and thus also planetary composition. HD 172555, a stellar twin of β Pic, hosts a debris disk thought to have resulted from a giant collision. It is known for its extreme mid-infrared silica dust feature, indicating a warm population of silica-rich grains in the asteroid belt (∼5 au), cold CO observed by Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), and small bodies evaporating as they approach close to the star. Our JWST Mid-InfraRed Instrument/Medium Resolution Spectroscopy (MIRI MRS) observations now reveal emission from an inner gaseous disk (<0.5 au) that arises from the evaporation of close-in material. For the first time in a debris disk, we detect neutral atomic chlorine and sulfur, as well as ionized nickel. We recovered the neutral sulfur line in ∼20 yr old Spitzer data, showing it is long-lived and stable. Ionized iron, previously seen only in β Pic, is also detected. All lines are broadened by Keplerian rotation, pinpointing the gas location. The HD 172555 system serves as a unique laboratory to study the composition of planetesimals, asteroids, and comets beyond the solar system. The comparison to β Pic reveals that the gas in HD 172555 is hotter, closer to the star, and poor in argon—suggesting it originates from evaporating rocky bodies near the star, while β Pic’s gas may trace volatile-rich bodies from larger separations.

The Astrophysical JournalVol. 989(2)
Leiden University (NL), University of Copenhagen (DK), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Vienna (AT), Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), University of Liège (BE), Stockholm University (SE), University of Groningen (NL), Carnegie Institution for Science (US), Université Paris Cité (FR), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (FR), Université Paris-Saclay (FR), Observatoire de Paris (FR), Astronomical Observatory of Rome (IT), Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte (IT), Konkoly Observatory (HU), ETH Zurich (CH), Sorbonne Université (FR), Graz University of Technology (AT), Space Research Institute (AT), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale (FR), Max Planck Institute for Astronomy (DE), Laboratoire d’études spatiales et d’instrumentation en astrophysique (FR), Institute of Astronomy (RU), HUN-REN Research Centre for Astronomy and Earth Sciences (HU), Centro de Astrobiología (ES), AlbaNova (SE), Hungarian Research Network (HU), Space Research Organisation Netherlands (NL), KU Leuven (BE)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute, European Space Agency, National Research Foundation, Enterprise Ireland, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Swedish National Space Agency, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Science and Technology Facilities Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
Astro and Planetary Science
4.62
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