DISCOVERY OF A CANDIDATE PROTOPLANETARY DISK AROUND THE EMBEDDED SOURCE IRc9 IN ORION

We report the detection of spatially-extended mid-infrared emission around the luminous embedded star IRc9 in OMC-1, as seen in 8.8, 11.7, and 18.3 μm images obtained with T-ReCS on Gemini South. The extended emission is asymmetric, and the morphology is reminiscent of warm dust disks around other young stars. The putative disk has a radius of roughly 1. 5 (700 AU), and a likely dust mass of almost 10 Earth masses. The infrared spectral energy distribution of IRc9 indicates a total luminosity of ∼100 L⊙, implying that it shall become an early A-type star when it reaches the main sequence. Thus, the candidate disk around IRc9 may be a young analog of the planetary debris disks around Vega-like stars and the disks of Herbig Ae stars, and may provide a laboratory in which to study the earliest phases of planet formation. A disk around IRc9 may also add weight to the hypothesis that an enhanced T Tauri-like wind from this star has influenced the molecular outflow from the OMC-1 core. Subject headings: planetary systems: protoplanetary disks — stars: formation — stars: pre– main-sequence