THE SHARPEST LOOK AT THE CLOSEST T TAURI DISK: NACO POLARIMETRIC DIFFERENTIAL IMAGING OF THE TW HYA

摘要

We present images of the disk around the T Tauri star TW Hya, which have the highest spatial resolution reached so far. The images were obtained through the polarimet-ric differential imaging technique with the adaptive optics system NACO. Our commissioning data show the presence of polarized disk emission between 0.1" and 1.4" from the star. We derive the first Ks-band surface brightness distribution and confirm the previously reported slope change at 0.8". These results show the potential of the new polarimetric differential imaging technique at 10 m class telescopes to map the inner regions of protoplanetary disks.