Letter to the Editor

Resolving debris discs in the far-infrared: Early highlights from the DEBRIS survey^*

¹ Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council Canada, 5071 West Saanich Road., Victoria, BC, Canada, V9E 2E7, Canada e-mail: brenda.matthews@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
² University of Victoria, Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8W 3P6 Canada
³ UK Astronomy Technology Center, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁴ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge, CB3 0HA, UK
⁵ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁶ Laboratoire d'Astrophysique, Observatoire de Grenoble, Université J. Fourier, CNRS, France
⁷ Department of Astronomy, University of California, 601 Campbell Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA
⁸ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, UK
⁹ Observatoire de Paris - CNRS, 77 Av. Denfert Rochereau, 75014 Paris, France
¹⁰ Centro de Astrobiología (CSIC-INTA), 28850 Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain
¹¹ Department of Astrophysical Sciences, Ivy Lane, Peyton Hall, Princeton University, Princeton NJ 08544, USA
¹² Département de physique et Observatoire du Mont-Mégantic, Université de Montréal, C. P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
¹³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
¹⁴ ALMA JAO, Avda. Apoquindo 3846, Piso 19, Edificio Alsacia, Las Condes, Santiago, Chile
¹⁵ Thüringer Landessternwarte, Sternwarte 5, D-07778 Tautenburg, Germany
¹⁶ Astronomy Department, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C1400, Austin, TX 78712-0259, USA
¹⁷ Hamburger Sternwarte, Gojenbergsweg 112, 21029 Hamburg, Germany
¹⁸ Department of Physics, Science Laboratories, Durham University, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
¹⁹ Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Los Angeles, 475 Portola Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547, USA
²⁰ Geneva Observatory, Astronomy Department of the Geneva University, Switzerland
²¹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Postbus 9513, 2300 RA, Leiden, The Netherlands
²² Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA

Received: 31 March 2010
Accepted: 9 May 2010

Abstract

We present results from the earliest observations of DEBRIS, a Herschel key programme to conduct a volume- and flux-limited survey for debris discs in A-type through M-type stars. PACS images (from chop/nod or scan-mode observations) at 100 and 160 μm are presented toward two A-type stars and one F-type star: β Leo, β UMa and η Corvi. All three stars are known disc hosts. Herschel spatially resolves the dust emission around all three stars (marginally, in the case of β UMa), providing new information about discs as close as 11 pc with sizes comparable to that of the Solar System. We have combined these data with existing flux density measurements of the discs to refine the SEDs and derive estimates of the fractional luminosities, temperatures and radii of the discs.