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D.C. Hines, F.J. Low, G. Schneider (Steward Observatory)
Spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from 0.4 to 4.7\mum are presented for the two principle stellar components of HD~98800 (Aa+Ab and Ba+Bb). The third major component, an extensive planetary debris system (PDS), emits >20% of the luminosity of star B in a gray body SED at 164± K extending from mid-IR to mm-wavelengths. The absence of detectable reflected circumstellar starlight in our HST/NICMOS observations suggests an upper limit of < 0.2 for the 0.95 \mum albedo of the PDS material. Values are presented for the temperature, luminosity, equivalent radius and mass of each major systemic component. Remarkable similarities are found between the PDS and the interplanetary debris system around the Sun as it could have appeared a few million years after its formation.
We report these results as part of the NICMOS Instrument Definition Team's Environments of Nearby Stars program. This work is supported by NASA grant NAG 5-3042. This paper is based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. under NASA contract NAS5-26555.
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