An interferometric study of the Fomalhaut inner debris disk

Abstract

Context. Debris disks are thought to be extrasolar analogs to the solar system planetesimal belts. The star Fomalhaut harbors a cold debris belt at 140 AU comparable to the Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, as well as evidence of a warm dust component, unresolved by single-dish telescopes, which is suspected of being a bright analog to the solar system’s zodiacal dust.