The Architecture of the V892 Tau System: The Binary and Its Circumbinary Disk

We present high-resolution millimeter continuum and CO line observations for the circumbinary disk around V892 Tau to constrain the stellar and disk properties. The total mass of the two near-equal-mass A stars is estimated to be 6.0 +/- 0.2 M (circle dot) based on our models of the Keplerian-dominated gas disk rotation. The detection of strong ionized gas emission associated with the two stars at 8 mm, when combined with previous astrometric measurements in the near-infrared, provides an updated view of the binary orbit with a = 7.1 +/- 0.1 au, e = 0.27 +/- 0.1, and P = 7.7 +/- 0.2 yr, which is about half of a previously reported orbital period. The binary orbital plane is proposed to be nearly coplanar to the circumbinary disk plane (with a mutual inclination of only Delta = 8 +/- 4.degrees 2; another solution with Delta = 113 degrees is less likely given the short realignment timescale). An asymmetric dust disk ring peaking at a radius of 0.'' 2 is detected at 1.3 mm and its fainter counterparts are also detected at the longer 8 and 9.8 mm. The CO gas disk, though dominated by Keplerian rotation, presents a mild inner and outer disk misalignment. The radial extension of the disk, its asymmetric dust ring, and the presence of a disk warp could all be explained by the interaction between the eccentric binary and the circumbinary disk, which we assume were formed with nonzero mutual inclination. Some tentatively detected gas spirals in the outer disk are likely produced by interactions with the low-mass tertiary component located 4 '' to the northeast. Our analyses demonstrate the promising usage of V892 Tau as an excellent benchmark system to study the details of binary-disk interactions.

Automated summary

High-resolution millimeter continuum and CO line observations were used to study the circumbinary disk around V892 Tau. The total mass of the two near-equal-mass A stars was estimated, and strong ionized gas emission was detected, leading to an updated view of the binary orbit.