A low optical depth region in the inner disk of the Herbig Ae star HR 5999 (original) (raw)

Context. Circumstellar disks surrounding young stars are known to be the birthplaces of planetary systems, and the innermost astronomical unit is of particular interest. Near-infrared interferometric studies have revealed a complex morphology for the close environment surrounding Herbig Ae stars. Aims. We present new long-baseline spectro-interferometric observations of the Herbig Ae star, HR 5999, obtained in the H and K bands with the AMBER instrument at the VLTI, and aim to produce near-infrared images at the sub-AU spatial scale. Methods. We spatially resolve the circumstellar material and reconstruct images in the H and K bands using the MiRA algorithm. In addition, we interpret the interferometric observations using models that assume that the near-infrared excess is dominated by the emission of a circumstellar disk. We compare the images reconstructed from the VLTI measurements to images obtained using simulated model data.