A Misaligned Debris Disk relative to the Host Star CPD-72 2713 from JWST/NIRCam Imaging
Abstract
Observations of debris disks provide a valuable window to investigate the formation and evolution of planetary systems. We present high-contrast JWST/NIRCam observations of CPD-72 2713, a 24 Myr-old star that belongs to the β Pic moving group. We obtained the first scattered-light images of the disk in both F210M and F444W filters, revealing a nearly face-on orientation. Forward modeling yields disk radii of 55.4+3.0−3.2 AU (F210M) and 39.1+4.6−2.6 AU (F444W), both significantly smaller than the thermal emission radii measured with ALMA and Herschel/PACS. This discrepancy suggests that scattered light traces the inner region of the disk while thermal emission probes the outer regions. Combining the stellar rotation period (4.47±0.67 days) from TESS light curves and spectroscopic vsin i*, we constrained the stellar inclination to 47∘.2+11.1−7.7 (1σ). The minimum star-disk mutual inclinations are 27∘.6 −8.2 +11.5 (1σ) from F210M data and 27∘.3 −10.9 +12.5 (1σ) in F444W data. We find that the minimum star--disk mutual inclination exceeds 10∘ at the 95% credible level in both F210M and F444W, suggesting a misalignment between the scattered-light disk and the stellar equatorial plane. We note that variation among published disk inclination measurements and potential systematic uncertainties may affect this probability. With JWST high-contrast imaging, we rule out planets down to 0.3 MJ at 0.5′′ and beyond, disfavoring a planet as the driver of the star-disk misalignment.
Related
- Deep HST/STIS Coronagraphic Imaging of the β Pictoris Debris Disk: On the Scattered Light Component of the Cat's Tail
- Deep HST/STIS Coronagraphic Imaging of the β Pictoris Debris Disk: On the Scattered Light Component of the Cat’s Tail
- The JWST Sub-Jupiters Survey: Direct Imaging Discovery of a Giant Planet and a Debris Disk Around the Young M-dwarf RX J0534.0-0221
- The JWST Sub-Jupiters Survey: Direct-imaging Discovery of a Giant Planet and a Debris Disk around the Young M Dwarf RX J0534.0-0221
- HD 152384: A 5-megayear-old debris disk system showing a gaseous ring of refractory elements at the dust sublimation radius
BibTeX
@misc{zhang2026misaligned,
title = {{A Misaligned Debris Disk relative to the Host Star CPD-72 2713 from JWST/NIRCam Imaging}},
author = {Jingwen Zhang and Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer and Kellen Lawson and Jarron Leisenring and Brendan P. Bowler and Aarynn L. Carter and Beth Biller and Tim D. Pearce and Sebastian Marino and Ellis Bogat and Robert J. De Rosa and Élodie Choquet and Julien H. Girard and Nicolas Godoy and S. Hinkley and Bruce Macintosh and Elisabeth C. Matthews and Shrishmoy Ray and Connor Vancil and Lisa Altinier},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.20700},
eprint = {2610.20700},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20700},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - A Misaligned Debris Disk relative to the Host Star CPD-72 2713 from JWST/NIRCam Imaging
AU - Jingwen Zhang
AU - Maxwell A. Millar-Blanchaer
AU - Kellen Lawson
AU - Jarron Leisenring
AU - Brendan P. Bowler
AU - Aarynn L. Carter
AU - Beth Biller
AU - Tim D. Pearce
AU - Sebastian Marino
AU - Ellis Bogat
AU - Robert J. De Rosa
AU - Élodie Choquet
AU - Julien H. Girard
AU - Nicolas Godoy
AU - S. Hinkley
AU - Bruce Macintosh
AU - Elisabeth C. Matthews
AU - Shrishmoy Ray
AU - Connor Vancil
AU - Lisa Altinier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.20700
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.20700
AB - Observations of debris disks provide a valuable window to investigate the formation and evolution of planetary systems. We present high-contrast JWST/NIRCam observations of CPD-72 2713, a 24 Myr-old star that belongs to the β Pic moving group. We obtained the first scattered-light images of the disk in both F210M and F444W filters, revealing a nearly face-on orientation. Forward modeling yields disk radii of 55.4^+3.0_−3.2 AU (F210M) and 39.1^+4.6_−2.6 AU (F444W), both significantly smaller than the thermal emission radii measured with ALMA and Herschel/PACS. This discrepancy suggests that scattered light traces the inner region of the disk while thermal emission probes the outer regions. Combining the stellar rotation period (4.47±0.67 days) from TESS light curves and spectroscopic vsin i_*, we constrained the stellar inclination to 47^∘.2^+11.1_−7.7 (1σ). The minimum star-disk mutual inclinations are 27^∘.6 _−8.2 ^+11.5 (1σ) from F210M data and 27^∘.3 _−10.9^ +12.5 (1σ) in F444W data. We find that the minimum star--disk mutual inclination exceeds 10^∘ at the 95% credible level in both F210M and F444W, suggesting a misalignment between the scattered-light disk and the stellar equatorial plane. We note that variation among published disk inclination measurements and potential systematic uncertainties may affect this probability. With JWST high-contrast imaging, we rule out planets down to 0.3 M_J at 0.5^′′ and beyond, disfavoring a planet as the driver of the star-disk misalignment.
ER -