Date:
Speaker: Brenda Matthews (Herzberg Institute)
Title: Results from the Herschel DEBRIS Survey
Abstract: Debris disks are second-generation dusty disks observed around main sequence stars. They are generated by ongoing collisions between larger planetesimal bodies in the disk and indicate that the system succeeded in building large solids within the long-dispersed protoplanetary disk. Debris disks were originally detected by IRAS through their thermal emission and have also been imaged in scattered light in the optical and near-infrared. The Herschel Space Observatory has proven to be a very effective instrument for detection and, most importantly, resolution of debris disks around the nearest stars. I will present results from the DEBRIS (Disk Emission via a Bias-free Reconnaissance in the Infrared/Submillimetre) survey, one of the two Open Time key programs focused on debris disks. DEBRIS has observed 446 targets of spectral types A0 through M7 to a uniform depth at 100 and 160 micron, with selected followup observations at 70 micron and 250, 350 and 500 micron. I will present our findings of how debris incidence varies as a function of spectral type, age, metallicity and binarity. Several resolved disks will also be presented with our analysis regarding disk morphology and constraints on planets within the systems.