2007ApJ...664..536H

We present Very Large Array observations at 7 mm wavelength that resolve the dust emission structure in the disk around the young star TW Hydrae at the scale of the ∼4 AU (0.16") radius inner hole inferred from spectral energy distribution modeling. These high-resolution data directly confirm the presence of an inner hole in the dust disk and reveal a high-brightness ring that we associate with the directly illuminated inner edge of the disk. The clearing of the inner disk plausibly results from the dynamical effects of a giant planet in formation. In an appendix, we develop an analytical framework for the interpretation of visibility curves from power-law disk models with inner holes.