ALMA High-resolution Multiband Analysis for the Protoplanetary Disk around TW Hya

Abstract

We present a high-resolution (2.5 au) multiband analysis of the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya using Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) long baseline data at Bands 3, 4, 6, and 7. We aim to reconstruct a high-sensitivity millimeter continuum image and revisit the spectral index distribution. The imaging is performed by combining new ALMA data at Bands 4 and 6 with available archive data. Two methods are employed to reconstruct the images: multifrequency synthesis (MFS) and the fiducial image-oriented method, where each band is imaged separately and the frequency dependence is fitted pixel by pixel. We find that MFS imaging with a second-order Taylor expansion can reproduce the frequency dependence of the continuum emission between Bands 3 and 7 in a manner consistent with previous studies, and that it is a reasonable method for reconstructing the spectral index map. The image-oriented method provides a spectral index map consistent with the MFS imaging, but with a two times lower resolution. Mock observations of an intensity model were conducted to validate the images from the two methods. We find that the MFS imaging provides a high-resolution spectral index distribution with an uncertainty of <10%. Using the submillimeter spectrum reproduced from our MFS images, we directly calculate the optical depth, power-law index of the dust opacity coefficient ( β ), and dust temperature. The derived parameters are consistent with previous works, and the enhancement of β within the intensity gaps is also confirmed, supporting a deficit of millimeter-sized grains within the gaps.