arXiv subjects

Karin I. Öberg

Publications and source records attributed to Karin I. Öberg.

84 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

The Coupled Physical Structure of Gas and Dust in the IM Lup Protoplanetary Disk

The spatial distribution of gas and solids in protoplanetary disks determines the composition and formation efficiency of planetary systems. A number of disks show starkly different distributions for the gas and small grains compared to millimeter-centimeter sized dust. We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the dust continuum, CO, $^{13}$CO, and C$^{18}$O in the IM Lup protoplanetary disk, one of the first systems where this dust-gas dichotomy was clearly seen. The $^{12}$CO is detected out to a radius of 970 AU, while the millimeter continuum emission is truncated at just 313 AU. Based upon this data, we have built a comprehensive physical and chemical model for the disk structure, which takes into account the complex, coupled nature of the gas and dust and the interplay between the local and external environment. We constrain the distributions of gas and dust, the gas temperatures, the CO abundances, the CO optical depths, and the incident external radiation field. We find that the reduction/removal of dust from the outer disk exposes this region to higher stellar and external radiation and decreases the rate of freeze-out, allowing CO to remain in the gas out to large radial distances. We estimate a gas-phase CO abundance of $5\%$ of the ISM value and a low external radiation field ($G_0\lesssim4$). The latter is consistent with that expected from the local stellar population. We additionally find tentative evidence for ring-like continuum substructure, suggestions of isotope-selective photodissociation, and a diffuse gas halo.

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arXiv2016

CO$_2$ Infrared Phonon Modes in Interstellar Ice Mixtures

CO$_2$ ice is an important reservoir of carbon and oxygen in star and planet forming regions. Together with water and CO, CO$_2$ sets the physical and chemical characteristics of interstellar icy grain mantles, including desorption and diffusion energies for other ice constituents. A detailed understanding of CO$_2$ ice spectroscopy is a prerequisite to characterize CO$_2$ interactions with other volatiles both in interstellar ices and in laboratory experiments of interstellar ice analogs. We report laboratory spectra of the CO$_2$ longitudinal optical (LO) phonon mode in pure CO$_2$ ice and in CO$_2$ ice mixtures with H$_2$O, CO, O$_2$ components. We show that the LO phonon mode position is sensitive to the mixing ratio of various ice components of astronomical interest. In the era of JWST, this characteristic could be used to constrain interstellar ice compositions and morphologies. More immediately, LO phonon mode spectroscopy provides a sensitive probe of ice mixing in the laboratory and should thus enable diffusion measurements with higher precision than has been previously possible.

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arXiv2016

The Radial Distribution of H2 and CO in TW Hya as Revealed by Resolved ALMA Observations of CO Isotopologues

CO is widely used as a tracer of molecular gas. However, there is now mounting evidence that gas phase carbon is depleted in the disk around TW Hya. Previous efforts to quantify this depletion have been hampered by uncertainties regarding the radial thermal structure in the disk. Here we present resolved ALMA observations of 13CO 3-2, C18O 3-2, 13CO 6-5, and C18O 6-5 emission in TW Hya, which allow us to derive radial gas temperature and gas surface density profiles, as well as map the CO abundance as a function of radius. These observations provide a measurement of the surface CO snowline at ~30 AU and show evidence for an outer ring of CO emission centered at 53 AU, a feature previously seen only in less abundant species. Further, the derived CO gas temperature profile constrains the freeze-out temperature of CO in the warm molecular layer to < 21 K. Combined with the previous detection of HD 1-0, these data constrain the surface density of the warm H2 gas in the inner ~30 AU. We find that CO is depleted by two orders of magnitude from R=10-60 AU, with the small amount of CO returning to the gas phase inside the surface CO snowline insufficient to explain the overall depletion. Finally, this new data is used in conjunction with previous modeling of the TW Hya disk to constrain the midplane CO snowline to 17-23 AU.

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arXiv2016

Exploring the Origins of Deuterium Enrichments in Solar Nebular Organics

Deuterium-to-hydrogen (D/H) enrichments in molecular species provide clues about their original formation environment. The organic materials in primitive solar system bodies have generally higher D/H ratios and show greater D/H variation when compared to D/H in solar system water. We propose this difference arises at least in part due to 1) the availability of additional chemical fractionation pathways for organics beyond that for water, and 2) the higher volatility of key carbon reservoirs compared to oxygen. We test this hypothesis using detailed disk models, including a sophisticated, new disk ionization treatment with a low cosmic ray ionization rate, and find that disk chemistry leads to higher deuterium enrichment in organics compared to water, helped especially by fractionation via the precursors CH$_2$D$^+$/CH$_3^+$. We also find that the D/H ratio in individual species varies significantly depending on their particular formation pathways. For example, from $\sim20-40$ AU, CH$_4$ can reach $\rm{D/H\sim2\times10^{-3}}$, while D/H in CH$_3$OH remains locally unaltered. Finally, while the global organic D/H in our models can reproduce intermediately elevated D/H in the bulk hydrocarbon reservoir, our models are unable to reproduce the most deuterium-enriched organic materials in the solar system, and thus our model requires some inheritance from the cold interstellar medium from which the Sun formed.

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arXiv2015

CO and N$_2$ desorption energies from water ice

The relative desorption energies of CO and N$_2$ are key to interpretations of observed interstellar CO and N$_2$ abundance patterns, including the well-documented CO and N$_2$H$^+$ anti-correlations in disks, protostars and molecular cloud cores. Based on laboratory experiments on pure CO and N$_2$ ice desorption, the difference between CO and N$_2$ desorption energies is small; the N$_2$-to-CO desorption energy ratio is 0.93$\pm$0.03. Interstellar ices are not pure, however, and in this study we explore the effect of water ice on the desorption energy ratio of the two molecules. We present temperature programmed desorption experiments of different coverages of $^{13}$CO and $^{15}$N$_2$ on porous and compact amorphous water ices and, for reference, of pure ices. In all experiments, $^{15}$N$_2$ desorption begins a few degrees before the onset of $^{13}$CO desorption. The $^{15}$N$_2$ and $^{13}$CO energy barriers are 770 and 866 K for the pure ices, 1034-1143 K and 1155-1298 K for different sub-monolayer coverages on compact water ice, and 1435 and 1575 K for $\sim$1 ML of ice on top of porous water ice. For all equivalent experiments, the N$_2$-to-CO desorption energy ratio is consistently 0.9. Whenever CO and N$_2$ ice reside in similar ice environments (e.g. experience a similar degree of interaction with water ice) their desorption temperatures should thus be within a few degrees of one another. A smaller N$_2$-to-CO desorption energy ratio may be present in interstellar and circumstellar environments if the average CO ice molecules interacts more with water ice compared to the average N$_2$ molecules.

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arXiv2015

Next Generation Very Large Array Memo No. 6, Science Working Group 1: The Cradle of Life

This paper discusses compelling science cases for a future long-baseline interferometer operating at millimeter and centimeter wavelengths, like the proposed Next Generation Vary Large Array (ngVLA). We report on the activities of the Cradle of Life science working group, which focused on the formation of low- and high-mass stars, the formation of planets and evolution of protoplanetary disks, the physical and compositional study of Solar System bodies, and the possible detection of radio signals from extraterrestrial civilizations. We propose 19 scientific projects based on the current specification of the ngVLA. Five of them are highlighted as possible Key Science Projects: (1) Resolving the density structure and dynamics of the youngest HII regions and high-mass protostellar jets, (2) Unveiling binary/multiple protostars at higher resolution, (3) Mapping planet formation regions in nearby disks on scales down to 1 AU, (4) Studying the formation of complex molecules, and (5) Deep atmospheric mapping of giant planets in the Solar System. For each of these projects, we discuss the scientific importance and feasibility. The results presented here should be considered as the beginning of a more in-depth analysis of the science enabled by such a facility, and are by no means complete or exhaustive.

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arXiv2015

The Distribution and Chemistry of H$_2$CO in the DM Tau Protoplanetary Disk

H$_2$CO ice on dust grains is an important precursor of complex organic molecules (COMs). H$_2$CO gas can be readily observed in protoplanetary disks and may be used to trace COM chemistry. However, its utility as a COM probe is currently limited by a lack of constraints on the relative contributions of two different formation pathways: on icy grain-surfaces and in the gas-phase. We use archival ALMA observations of the resolved distribution of H$_2$CO emission in the disk around the young low-mass star DM Tau to assess the relative importance of these formation routes. The observed H$_2$CO emission has a centrally peaked and radially broad brightness profile (extending out to 500 AU). We compare these observations with disk chemistry models with and without grain-surface formation reactions, and find that both gas and grain-surface chemistry are necessary to explain the spatial distribution of the emission. Gas-phase H$_2$CO production is responsible for the observed central peak, while grain-surface chemistry is required to reproduce the emission exterior to the CO snowline (where H$_2$CO mainly forms through the hydrogenation of CO ice before being non-thermally desorbed). These observations demonstrate that both gas and grain-surface pathways contribute to the observed H$_2$CO in disks, and that their relative contributions depend strongly on distance from the host star.

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arXiv2015

Complex organic molecules in organic-poor massive young stellar objects

Massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) with hot cores are classic sources of complex organic molecules. The origins of these molecules in such sources, as well as the small- and large-scale differentiation between nitrogen- and oxygen-bearing complex species, are poorly understood. We aim to use complex molecule abundances toward a chemically less explored class of MYSOs with weak hot organic emission lines to constrain the impact of hot molecular cores and initial ice conditions on the chemical composition toward MYSOs. We use the IRAM 30m and the Submillimeter Array to search for complex organic molecules over 8-16 GHz in the 1~mm atmospheric window toward three MYSOs with known ice abundances, but without luminous molecular hot cores. Complex molecules are detected toward all three sources at comparable abundances with respect to CH$_3$OH to classical hot core sources. The relative importance of CH$_3$CHO, CH$_3$CCH, CH$_3$OCH$_3$, CH$_3$CN, and HNCO differ between the organic-poor MYSOs and hot cores, however. Furthermore, the N-bearing molecules are generally concentrated toward the source centers, while most O- and C-bearing molecules are present both in the center and in the colder envelope. Gas-phase HNCO/CH$_3$OH ratios are tentatively correlated with the ratios of NH$_3$ ice over CH$_3$OH ice in the same lines of sight, which is consistent with new gas-grain model predictions. Hot cores are not required to form complex organic molecules, and source temperature and initial ice composition both seem to affect complex organic distributions toward MYSOs. To quantify the relative impact of temperature and initial conditions requires, however, a larger spatially resolved survey of MYSOs with ice detections.

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arXiv2014

The ancient heritage of water ice in the solar system

Identifying the source of Earth's water is central to understanding the origins of life-fostering environments and to assessing the prevalence of such environments in space. Water throughout the solar system exhibits deuterium-to-hydrogen enrichments, a fossil relic of low-temperature, ion-derived chemistry within either (i) the parent molecular cloud or (ii) the solar nebula protoplanetary disk. Utilizing a comprehensive treatment of disk ionization, we find that ion-driven deuterium pathways are inefficient, curtailing the disk's deuterated water formation and its viability as the sole source for the solar system's water. This finding implies that if the solar system's formation was typical, abundant interstellar ices are available to all nascent planetary systems.

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arXiv2013

Indirect ultraviolet photodesorption from CO:N2 binary ices - an efficient grain-gas process

UV ice photodesorption is an important non-thermal desorption pathway in many interstellar environments that has been invoked to explain observations of cold molecules in disks, clouds and cloud cores. Systematic laboratory studies of the photodesorption rates, between 7 and 14 eV, from CO:N2 binary ices, have been performed at the DESIRS vacuum UV beamline of the synchrotron facility SOLEIL. The photodesorption spectral analysis demonstrates that the photodesorption process is indirect, i.e. the desorption is induced by a photon absorption in sub-surface molecular layers, while only surface molecules are actually desorbing. The photodesorption spectra of CO and N2 in binary ices therefore depend on the absorption spectra of the dominant species in the subsurface ice layer, which implies that the photodesorption efficiency and energy dependence are dramatically different for mixed and layered ices compared to pure ices. In particular, a thin (1-2 ML) N2 ice layer on top of CO will effectively quench CO photodesorption, while enhancing N2 photodesorption by a factors of a few (compared to the pure ices) when the ice is exposed to a typical dark cloud UV field, which may help to explain the different distributions of CO and N2H+ in molecular cloud cores. This indirect photodesorption mechanism may also explain observations of small amounts of complex organics in cold interstellar environments.

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arXiv2013

Wavelength-dependent UV photodesorption of pure N2 and O2 ices

Ultraviolet photodesorption of molecules from icy interstellar grains can explain observations of cold gas in regions where thermal desorption is negligible. This non-thermal desorption mechanism should be especially important where UV fluxes are high. N2 and O2 are expected to play key roles in astrochemical reaction networks, both in the solid state and in the gas phase. Measurements of the wavelength-dependent photodesorption rates of these two infrared-inactive molecules provide astronomical and physical-chemical insights into the conditions required for their photodesorption. Tunable radiation from the DESIRS beamline at the SOLEIL synchrotron in the astrophysically relevant 7 to 13.6 eV range is used to irradiate pure N2 and O2 thin ice films. Photodesorption of molecules is monitored through quadrupole mass spectrometry. Absolute rates are calculated by using the well-calibrated CO photodesorption rates. Strategic N2 and O2 isotopolog mixtures are used to investigate the importance of dissociation upon irradiation. N2 photodesorption mainly occurs through excitation of the b^1Pi_u state and subsequent desorption of surface molecules. The observed vibronic structure in the N2 photodesorption spectrum, together with the absence of N3 formation, supports that the photodesorption mechanism of N2 is similar to CO, i.e., an indirect DIET (Desorption Induced by Electronic Transition) process without dissociation of the desorbing molecule. In contrast, O2 photodesorption in the 7 - 13.6 eV range occurs through dissociation and presents no vibrational structure. Photodesorption rates of N2 and O2 integrated over the far-UV field from various star-forming environments are lower than for CO. Rates vary between 10E-3 and 10E-2 photodesorbed molecules per incoming photon.

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arXiv2009

Quantification of segregation dynamics in ice mixtures

(Abridged) The observed presence of pure CO2 ice in protostellar envelopes is attributed to thermally induced ice segregation, but a lack of quantitative experimental data has prevented its use as a temperature probe. Quantitative segregation studies are also needed to characterize diffusion in ices, which underpins all ice dynamics and ice chemistry. This study aims to quantify the segregation mechanism and barriers in different H2O:CO2 and H2O:CO ice mixtures covering a range of astrophysically relevant ice thicknesses and mixture ratios. The ices are deposited at 16-50 K under (ultra-)high vacuum conditions. Segregation is then monitored at 23-70 K as a function of time, through infrared spectroscopy. Thin (8-37 ML) H2O:CO2/CO ice mixtures segregate sequentially through surface processes, followed by an order of magnitude slower bulk diffusion. Thicker ices (>100 ML) segregate through a fast bulk process. The thick ices must therefore be either more porous or segregate through a different mechanism, e.g. a phase transition. The segregation dynamics of thin ices are reproduced qualitatively in Monte Carlo simulations of surface hopping and pair swapping. The experimentally determined surface-segregation rates for all mixture ratios follow the Ahrrenius law with a barrier of 1080[190] K for H2O:CO2 and 300[100] K for H2O:CO mixtures. During low-mass star formation H2O:CO2 segregation will be important already at 30[5] K. Both surface and bulk segregation is proposed to be a general feature of ice mixtures when the average bond strengths of the mixture constituents in pure ice exceeds the average bond strength in the ice mixture.

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