Does Fomalhaut A Have an Asteroid-belt Analog?

Fomalhaut plays an important role in the study of debris disks and small bodies in other planetary systems. The proximity and luminosity of the star make key features of its debris like the water ice-line easily accessible. Here we present ALMA cycle 1, 870 μm (345 GHz) observation targeted at the inner part of the Fomalhaut system with a synthesized beam of 0.45"x0.37" (~3 AU linear resolution at the distance of Fomalhaut) and a rms of 26 μJy per beam. The high angular resolution and sensitivity of the ALMA data enable us to place strong constraints on the nature of the warm excess revealed by Spitzer and Herschel observations. We detect a point source at the star position with a total flux consistent with thermal emission from the stellar photosphere. No structures that are brighter than 3 σ are detected in the central 15 AUx15 AU region. Modeling the spectral energy distribution using parameters expected for a dust-producing planetesimal belt indicates a radial location in the range ˜8-15 AU. This is consistent with the location where ice sublimates in Fomalhaut, i.e., an asteroid-belt analog. We also provide a new interpretation for the emission structure in the inner 10 AU region revealed by interferometric measurements at 2 and 8-13 μm as dust naturally connected to this proposed asteroid belt by Poynting-Robertson drag, dust sublimation, and magnetically trapped nano grains.