A planet on an inclined orbit as an explanation of the warp in the Beta Pictoris disk

Abstract

We consider the deformation that has recently been observed in the inner part of the circumstellar disk around Beta Pictoris with the HST. Our recent ground based adaptive optics coronographic observations confirm that the inner disk is warped. We investigate the hypothesis that a yet undetected planet is responsible for the observed warp, through simulations of the effect of the gravitational perturbation due to a massive companion on the disk. The physical processes assumed in the simulations are discussed: since the observed particles do not survive collisions, the apparent disk shape is driven by the underlying collisionless parent population. The resulting possible parameters for the planet that are consistent with the observed disk deformation are reviewed.