Hubble Space Telescope ACS coronagraphic imaging of the circumstellar disk around HD 141569A

Multicolor coronagraphic images of the circumstellar disk around HD 141569A have been obtained with the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys. The B, V, and I images show that the disk's previously described multiple-ring structure is actually a continuous distribution of dust with a tightly wound spiral structure. Extending from the disk are two, more open spiral arms, one of which appears to reach the nearby binary star HD 141569BC. Diffuse dust is seen up to 1200 AU from HD 141569A. Although planets may exist in the inner region of the disk, tidal interaction with HD 141569BC seems more likely to be the cause of these phenomena. The disk appears redder than the star ( B - V = 0.21 and V - I = 0.25), and its color is spatially uniform. A scattering asymmetry factor of g = 0.25 - 0.35 is derived. The azimuthal density distribution is asymmetric, varying by a factor of similar to3 at some radii.