Spectro-astrometry of water in Dr Tauri

Abstract

We present high-resolution, near-infrared spectro-astrometric (SA) data for the T Tauri star DR Tau using NIRSPEC at the Keck II telescope. Spectro-astrometry obtains sub-seeing spatial information from emission lines originating in a non-point source object, such as a circumstellar disk. We report the first detection of water SA signatures in a protoplanetary disk. Three water features near 3 μm were averaged together to produce the total signal analyzed. Using a disk model, we constrained the position angle of the disk (∼140°), the inclination of the disk (∼13°), and the emitting region of the emission lines (∼0.056-0.38 AU). © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved..