CN rings in full protoplanetary disks around young stars as probes of disk structure

Autor: Ruud Visser, P. Cazzoletti, Simon Bruderer, E. F. van Dishoeck, Stefano Facchini
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Astrochemistry
FOS: Physical sciences
chemistry.chemical_element
Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics
01 natural sciences
Astronomical spectroscopy
0103 physical sciences
Radiative transfer
Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
010306 general physics
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics (astro-ph.SR)
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics (astro-ph.EP)
Physics
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Accretion (astrophysics)
T Tauri star
Stars
Astrophysics - Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
chemistry
13. Climate action
Space and Planetary Science
Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
Excited state
Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Carbon
Astrophysics - Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Zdroj: Astronomy and Astrophysics, 609, A93
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Popis: Bright ring-like structure emission of the CN molecule has been observed in protoplanetary disks. We investigate whether such structures are due to the morphology of the disk itself or if they are instead an intrinsic feature of CN emission. With the intention of using CN as a diagnostic, we also address to which physical and chemical parameters CN is most sensitive. A set of disk models were run for different stellar spectra, masses, and physical structures via the 2D thermochemical code DALI. An updated chemical network that accounts for the most relevant CN reactions was adopted. Ring-shaped emission is found to be a common feature of all adopted models; the highest abundance is found in the upper outer regions of the disk, and the column density peaks at 30-100 AU for T Tauri stars with standard accretion rates. Higher mass disks generally show brighter CN. Higher UV fields, such as those appropriate for T Tauri stars with high accretion rates or for Herbig Ae stars or for higher disk flaring, generally result in brighter and larger rings. These trends are due to the main formation paths of CN, which all start with vibrationally excited H2* molecules, that are produced through far ultraviolet (FUV) pumping of H2. The model results compare well with observed disk-integrated CN fluxes and the observed location of the CN ring for the TW Hya disk. CN rings are produced naturally in protoplanetary disks and do not require a specific underlying disk structure such as a dust cavity or gap. The strong link between FUV flux and CN emission can provide critical information regarding the vertical structure of the disk and the distribution of dust grains which affects the UV penetration, and could help to break some degeneracies in the SED fitting. In contrast with C2H or c-C3H2, the CN flux is not very sensitive to carbon and oxygen depletion.
Comment: New version of paper, correcting too high H2 excitation rates and consequently too high CN column densities. Qualitative conclusions of the paper remain unchanged. Quantitatively, the CN column densities are an order of magnitude lower whereas fluxes decrease by a factor of 3-4. Rings are larger by up to a factor of 2. 13 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in A&A
Databáze: OpenAIRE