The Infrared Emission of Circumstellar Envelopes, Dark Silhouettes and Photoionized Disks in HII Regions

Abstract

We model the IR Spectral Energy Distribution of circumstellar disks embedded in a HII region and photoevaporated by the external UV radiation. The model applies to the photoevaporated disks (proplyds) in Orion Nebula. First we calculate the IR emission of a PMS star surrounded by a dusty globule that is immersed within an HII region. The globule is assumed to be spherical, homogeneous, optically thin in the IR and photoevaporated according to the Dyson (1968) model. Second, we consider the IR emission of a disk directly exposed to the nebular environment. The disk is passive and treated according to the Chiang and Goldreich (1997) model. We improve over the CG97 treatment by tracing the propagation of the various radiative fluxes through the disk superheated atmosphere. Since the opposite disk sides receive different amounts of radiation, the flaring angle and the surface temperature distributions are different, resulting in well distinguished SEDs for the two disk faces. Finally, we combine the globule and disk models to estimate the IR emission of proplyds. The energy input from the central star and the nebular environment increase the disk flaring angle, and therefore also the amount of stellar radiation intercepted by the disk. The relative intensity of the disk vs. envelope emission varies with the tilt angle relative to the directions of th1Ori-C, and of the Earth. We explore the dependence of the SEDs upon the tilt angle with respect to the Earth, the distance from th1Ori-C, the size on the envelope, the inner disk radius and the temperature of the central star. The resulting SEDs are characterized by a broad peak of emission at 30-60micron, and are in general significantly different from those of isolated disks in low-mass star forming regions like Taurus-Auriga.