Direct Imaging For The Debris Disk Around epsilon Eridani With The Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph

We analyze the inner debris disk around ϵ Eridani using simulated observations with the Cool-Planet Imaging Coronagraph (CPI-C).

Using the radiative transfer code MCFOST, we generate synthetic scattered-light images and spectral energy distributions for three disk models that differ in inclination and radial extent, and compare these results with the anticipated performance of CPI-C. CPI-C can resolve disk structures down to ∼3 au, offering substantially finer spatial resolution than existing HST/STIS and Spitzer/IRS observations.

Recovered inclinations and radial extents closely match the input models, constraining the disk geometry and informing potential planet-disk interactions in the ϵ Eri system.

Although the cold Jupiter-like planet ϵ Eri b is not detected in our simulations, polarimetric methods may enable detection of its reflected light. These results highlight the capability of next-generation coronagraphs to probe cold dust in nearby planetary systems.

Chunhui Bao, Jianghui Ji, Gang Zhao, Yiming Zhu, Jiangpei Dou, Su Wang, Yao Dong

Comments: 17 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics
Subjects: Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP); Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR); Space Physics (physics.space-ph)
Cite as: arXiv:2509.16761 [astro-ph.EP] (or arXiv:2509.16761v1 [astro-ph.EP] for this version)
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2509.16761
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Submission history
From: Jianghui Ji
[v1] Sat, 20 Sep 2025 17:59:57 UTC (1,183 KB)
https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.16761

Astrobiology,