The first circumstellar disk imaged in silhouette at visible wavelengths with adaptive optics: MagAO imaging of orion 218-354

We present high-resolution adaptive optics (AO) corrected images of the silhouette disk Orion 218-354 taken with Magellan AO (MagAO) and its visible light camera, VisAO, in simultaneous differential imaging mode at Hα. This is the first image of a circumstellar disk seen in silhouette with AO and is among the first visible light AO results in the literature. We derive the disk extent, geometry, intensity, and extinction profiles and find, in contrast with previous work, that the disk is likely optically thin at Hα. Our data provide an estimate of the column density in primitive, ISM-like grains as a function of radius in the disk. We estimate that only ∼10% of the total submillimeter derived disk mass lies in primitive, unprocessed grains. We use our data, Monte Carlo radiative transfer modeling, and previous results from the literature to make the first self-consistent multiwavelength model of Orion 218-354. We find that we are able to reproduce the 1-1000 μm spectral energy distribution with a ∼2-540 AU disk of the size, geometry, small versus large grain proportion, and radial mass profile indicated by our data. This inner radius is a factor of ∼15 larger than the sublimation radius of the disk, suggesting that it is likely cleared in the very interior.