Modeling Spitzer Observations of VV Ser. I. The Circumstellar Disk of a UX Orionis Star

We present mid-infrared Spitzer IRS spectra of the UX Orionis star VV Ser, combined with interferometric and spectroscopic data from the literature covering UV to submillimeter wavelengths. The full set of data are modeled by an axisymmetric Monte Carlo radiative transfer code to test the prediction of Dullemond et al. that disks around UX Orionis stars are self-shadowed and seen nearly edge-on. Our model is consistent with all the available observational constraints, providing strong support for this interpretation. The mid-infrared SED is declining and exhibits weak silicate emission features, consistent with a self-shadowed geometry. MIPS imaging shows that the disk has a small grain dust mass as low as 0.8 × 10-7 M☉, which may be due to strong grain growth and settling. The grains in the upper layers of the puffed-up inner rim must be small (0.01-0.4 μm) to reproduce the colors (RV ~ 3.6) of the optical light curve, while the silicate emission features indicate that grains in the outer disk (>1-2 AU) are somewhat larger (0.3-3.0 μm). If grains in the inner disk are small, the location of the puffed-up inner rim is estimated to be at 0.7-0.8 AU. This is almost twice the rim radius estimated from near-infrared interferometry. Since larger (more gray) grains are able to penetrate closer to the star for the same dust sublimation temperature, we suggest a model in which large grains in the disk midplane reach to within 0.25 AU of the star, while small grains in the disk surface create a puffed-up rim at ~0.7-0.8 AU.