arXiv subjects

P. Woitke

Publications and source records attributed to P. Woitke.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2016

Dust in brown dwarfs and extra-solar planets V. Cloud formation in carbon- and oxygen-rich environment

Recent observations indicate potentially carbon-rich exoplanet atmospheres. Spectral fitting methods for brown dwarfs and exoplanets have invoked the C/O ratio as additional parameter but carbon-rich cloud formation modeling is a challenge for the models applied. The determination of the habitable zone for exoplanets requires the treatment of cloud formation in chemically different regimes. Disk models show that carbon-rich or near-carbon-rich niches may emerge and cool carbon planets may trace these particular stages of planetary evolution. We extend our kinetic cloud formation model by including carbon seed formation and the formation of C[s], TiC[s], SiC[s], KCl[s], and MgS[s] by gas-surface reactions. The seed formation efficiency is lower in carbon-rich atmospheres than in oxygen-rich gases due to carbon being a very effective growth species. The consequence is that less particles will make up a cloud for C/O_0>1. The cloud particles will be smaller in size than in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. An increasing initial C/O ratio does not revert this trend because a much greater abundance of condensible gas species exists in a rich carbon environment. Cloud particles are generally made of a mix of materials: carbon dominates if C/O_0>1 and silicates dominate if C/O_0<1. 80-90% carbon is reached only in extreme cases where C/O_0=3.0 or 10.0. Carbon-rich atmospheres would form clouds that are made of particles of height-dependent mixed compositions, sizes and numbers. The remaining gas-phase is far less depleted than in an oxygen-rich atmosphere. Typical tracer molecules are HCN and C2H2 in combination with a featureless, smooth continuum due to a carbonaceous cloud cover, unless the cloud particles become crystalline.

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arXiv2016

The mid-IR water and silicate relation in protoplanetary disks

Mid-IR water lines from protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars have a detection rate of 50\%. Models have identified multiple physical properties of disks such as dust-to-gas mass ratio, dust size power law distribution, disk gas mass, disk inner radius, and disk scale height as potential explanation for the current detection rate. We search for a connection between mid-IR water line fluxes and the strength of the 10~$μ$m silicate feature. We analyse observed water line fluxes from three blends and compute the 10~$μ$m silicate feature strength from Spitzer spectra. We use a series of published models, exploring disk dust and gas properties, and the effects of different stars. The models also show that the increasing stellar luminosity enhance simultaneously the strength of this dust feature and the water lines fluxes. No correlation is found between the observed mid-IR water lines and the 10~$μ$m silicate. Our sample shows the same difference in the peak strength between amorphous and crystalline silicates that was noted in earlier studies, but our models do not support this intrinsic difference in silicate peak strength. Individual properties of our model series are not able to reproduce the most extreme observations, suggesting that more complex dust properties are required. A parametrized settling prescription is able to boost the peak strength by a factor 2 for the standard model. Water line fluxes are unrelated to the composition of the dust. The pronounced regular trends seen in the model results are washed out in the data due to the larger diversity in stellar and disk properties compared to our model series. The disks with with weaker mid-IR water line fluxes are depleted in gas or enhanced in dust in the inner 10~au. In the case of gas depleted disks, settling produces very strong 10~$μ$m silicate features, with strong peak strength.

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arXiv2016

HCO+ Detection of Dust-Depleted Gas in the Inner Hole of the LkCa 15 Pre-Transitional Disk

LkCa 15 is an extensively studied star in the Taurus region known for its pre-transitional disk with a large inner cavity in dust continuum and normal gas accretion rate. The most popular hypothesis to explain the LkCa 15 data invokes one or more planets to carve out the inner cavity, while gas continues to flow across the gap from the outer disk onto the central star. We present spatially unresolved HCO+ J=4-3 observations of the LkCa 15 disk from the JCMT and model the data with the ProDiMo code. We find that: (1) HCO+ line-wings are clearly detected, certifying the presence of gas in the cavity within <50 AU of the star. (2) Reproducing the observed line-wing flux requires both a significant suppression of cavity dust (by a factor >10^4 compared to the ISM) and a substantial increase in the gas scale-height within the cavity (H_0/R_0 ~ 0.6). An ISM dust-to-gas ratio (d:g=10^-2) yields too little line-wing flux regardless of the scale-height or cavity gas geometry, while a smaller scale-height also under predicts the flux even with a reduced d:g. (3) The cavity gas mass is consistent with the surface density profile of the outer disk extended inwards to the sublimation radius (corresponding to mass M_d ~ 0.03 M_sun), and masses lower by a factor >10 appear to be ruled out.

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arXiv2016

Dynamic mineral clouds on HD 189733b I. 3D RHD with kinetic, non-equilibrium cloud formation

Observations of exoplanet atmospheres have revealed the presence of cloud particles in their atmospheres. 3D modelling of cloud formation in atmospheres of extrasolar planets coupled to the atmospheric dynamics has long been a challenge. We investigate the thermo-hydrodynamic properties of cloud formation processes in the atmospheres of hot Jupiter exoplanets. We simulate the dynamic atmosphere of HD 189733b with a 3D model that couples 3D radiative-hydrodynamics with a kinetic, microphysical mineral cloud formation module designed for RHD/GCM exoplanet atmosphere simulations. Our simulation includes the feedback effects of cloud advection and settling, gas phase element advection and depletion/replenishment and the radiative effects of cloud opacity. We model the cloud particles as a mix of mineral materials which change in size and composition as they travel through atmospheric thermo-chemical environments. All local cloud properties such as number density, grain size and material composition are time-dependently calculated. Gas phase element depletion as a result of cloud formation is included in the model. In-situ \textit{effective medium theory} and Mie theory is applied to calculate the wavelength dependent opacity of the cloud component. We present a 3D cloud structure of a chemically complex, gaseous atmosphere of the hot Jupiter HD 189733b. Mean cloud particle sizes are typically sub-micron (0.01-0.5 $μ$m) at pressures less than 1 bar with hotter equatorial regions containing the smallest grains. Denser cloud structures occur near terminator regions and deeper ($\sim$ 1 bar) atmospheric layers. Silicate materials such as MgSiO$_{3}$[s] are found to be abundant at mid-high latitudes, while TiO$_{2}$[s] and SiO$_{2}$[s] dominate the equatorial regions.

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arXiv2016

The abundance and thermal history of water ice in the disk surrounding HD142527 from the DIGIT Herschel Key Program

The presence or absence of ice in protoplanetary disks is of great importance for the formation of planets. By enhancing the solid surface density and increasing the sticking efficiency, ice catalyzes the rapid formation of planetesimals and decreases the time scale for giant planet core accretion. Aims: In this paper we analyse the composition of the outer disk around the Herbig star HD~142527. We focus on the composition of the water ice, but also analyse the abundances of previously proposed minerals. Methods: We present new Herschel far infrared spectra and a re-reduction of archival data from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We model the disk using full 3D radiative transfer to obtain the disk structure. Also, we use an optically thin analysis of the outer disk spectrum to obtain firm constraints on the composition of the dust component. Results: The water ice in the disk around HD~142527 contains a large reservoir of crystalline water ice. We determine the local abundance of water ice in the outer disk (i.e. beyond 130\,AU). The re-reduced ISO spectrum differs significantly from that previously published, but matches the new Herschel spectrum at their common wavelength range. In particular, we do not detect any significant contribution from carbonates or hydrous silicates, in contrast to earlier claims. Conclusions: The amount of water ice detected in the outer disk requires $\sim80\,$\% of the oxygen atoms. This is comparable to the water ice abundance in the outer solar system, in comets and in dense interstellar clouds. The water ice is highly crystalline while the temperatures where we detect it are too low to crystallize the water on relevant time scales. We discuss the implications of this finding.

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arXiv2016

A proposed new diagnostic for Herbig disc geometry: FWHM versus J of CO ro-vibrational lines

Aims. CO ro-vibrational lines observed from Herbig group II discs are seen to be often broad while the same lines observed from group I discs are often narrow. This difference is not well understood. In this paper we explore the underlying cause for this difference and provide a pathway for a better understanding of the geometry and structure of the inner discs around Herbig Ae/Be stars. Methods. High-spectral-resolution infrared spectra of CO ro-vibrational emission from six Herbig Ae/Be candidate stars were taken with CRIRES (CRyogenic high-resolution InfraRed Echelle Spectrograph) at the VLT (Very Large Telescope). From these spectra, we produce individual and co-added CO ro-vibrational line profiles. We investigate line profile shape differences, and we explore the FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) variations with J quantum number in the context of disc geometry. Furthermore, we put our new sources into the context of earlier observed sources to study a large sample. For comparison, we also investigate the FWHM variations with J of modelled CO ro-vibrational lines from two typical disc geometries produced with the thermo-chemical disc modelling code ProDiMo. Results. - abbreviated - Comparing dust and gas inner disc geometries (inferred by SED and CO ro-vibrational emission) for the expanded sample of observed Herbig discs, we find no clear correspondence between the SED groups of the sources and their inner CO radius. Conclusions. The FWHM versus J is a potential new gas diagnostic for the inner disc with e.g. a constant FWHM versus J indicating the presence of a large gas hole or gap. Both models and observations indicate the potential of this new diagnostic. - abbreviated -

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arXiv2016

Variability in the CO ro-vibrational lines from HD163296

We present for the first time a direct comparison of multi-epoch (2001-2002 and 2012) CO ro-vibrational emission lines from HD163296. We find that both the line shapes and the FWHM (Full Width Half Maximum) differ between these two epochs. The FWHM of the median observed line profiles are 10-25 km/s larger in the earlier epoch, and confirmed double peaks are only present in high J lines from 2001-2002. The line wings of individual transitions are similar in the two epochs making an additional central component in the later epoch a likely explanation for the single peaks and the lower FWHM. Variations in NIR brightness have been reported and could be linked to the observed variations. Additionally, we use the thermo chemical disc code ProDiMo to compare for the first time the line shapes, peak separations, FWHM, and line fluxes, to those observed. The ProDiMo model reproduces the peak separations, and low and mid J line fluxes well. The FWHM however, are over predicted and high J line fluxes are under predicted. We propose that a variable non-Keplerian component of the CO ro-vibrational emission, such as a disc wind or an episodic accretion funnel, is causing the difference between the two data sets collected at different epochs, and between model and observations. Additional CO ro-vibrational line detections (with CRIRES/VLT or NIRSPEC/Keck) or [Ne II] line observations with VISIR/VLT could help to clarify the cause of the variability.

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arXiv2015

Consistent dust and gas models for protoplanetary disks. I. Disk shape, dust settling, opacities, and PAHs

We propose a set of standard assumptions for the modelling of Class II and III protoplanetary disks, which includes detailed continuum radiative transfer, thermo-chemical modelling of gas and ice, and line radiative transfer from optical to cm wavelengths. We propose new standard dust opacities for disk models, we present a simplified treatment of PAHs sufficient to reproduce the PAH emission features, and we suggest using a simple treatment of dust settling. We roughly adjust parameters to obtain a model that predicts typical Class II T Tauri star continuum and line observations. We systematically study the impact of each model parameter (disk mass, disk extension and shape, dust settling, dust size and opacity, gas/dust ratio, etc.) on all continuum and line observables, in particular on the SED, mm-slope, continuum visibilities, and emission lines including [OI] 63um, high-J CO lines, (sub-)mm CO isotopologue lines, and CO fundamental ro-vibrational lines. We find that evolved dust properties (large grains) often needed to fit the SED, have important consequences for disk chemistry and heating/cooling balance, leading to stronger emission lines in general. Strong dust settling and missing disk flaring have similar effects on continuum observations, but opposite effects on far-IR gas emission lines. PAH molecules can shield the gas from stellar UV radiation because of their strong absorption and negligible scattering opacities. The observable millimetre-slope of the SED can become significantly more gentle in the case of cold disk midplanes, which we find regularly in our T Tauri models. We propose to use line observations of robust chemical tracers of the gas, such as O, CO, and H2, as additional constraints to determine some key properties of the disks, such as disk shape and mass, opacities, and the dust/gas ratio, by simultaneously fitting continuum and line observations.

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arXiv2015

Mid-IR spectra of Pre-Main Sequence Herbig stars: an explanation for the non-detections of water lines

The mid-IR detection rate of water lines in disks around Herbig stars disks is about 5\%, while it is around 50\% for disks around TTauri stars. The reason for this is still unclear. In this study, we want to find an explanation for the different detection rates between low mass and high mass pre-main-sequence stars (PMSs) in the mid-IR regime. We run disk models with stellar parameters adjusted to spectral types B9 through M2, using the radiation thermo-chemical disk modeling code ProDiMo. We produce convolved spectra at the resolution of Spitzer IRS, JWST MIRI and VLT VISIR spectrographs. We apply random noise derived from typical Spitzer spectra for a direct comparison with observations. The strength of the mid-IR water lines correlates directly with the luminosity of the central star. We explored a small parameter space around a standard disk model, considering dust-to-gas mass ratio, disk gas mass, mixing coefficient for dust settling, flaring index, dust maximum size and size power law distribution index. The models show that it is possible to suppress the water emission, however, current observations are not sensitive enough to detect mid-IR lines in disks for most of the explored parameters. The presence of noise in the spectra, combined with the high continuum flux (noise level is proportional to the continuum flux), is the most likely explanation for the non detections towards Herbig stars. Mid-IR spectra with resolution higher than 20000 are needed to investigate water in protoplanetary disks. Intrinsic differences in disk structure, e.g. inner gaps, gas-to-dust ratio, dust size and distribution, and inner disk scale height, between Herbig and TTauri star disks are able to explain a lower water detection rate in disks around Herbig stars.

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arXiv2015

Multiwavelength optical properties of compact dust aggregates in protoplanetary disks

In protoplanetary disks micron-size dust grains coagulate to form larger structures with complex shapes and compositions. The coagulation process changes the absorption and scattering properties of particles in the disk in significant ways. To properly interpret observations of protoplanetary disks and to place these observations in the context of the first steps of planet formation, it is crucial to understand the optical properties of these complex structures. We derive the optical properties of dust aggregates using detailed computations of aggregate structures and compare these computa- tionally demanding results with approximate methods that are cheaper to compute in practice. In this way we wish to understand the merits and problems of approximate methods and define the context in which they can or cannot be used to analyze observations of objects where significant grain growth is taking place. For the detailed computations we used the discrete dipole approximation (DDA), a method able to compute the interaction of light with a complexly shaped, inhomogeneous particle. We compared the results to those obtained using spherical and irregular, homogeneous and inhomogeneous particles. While no approximate method properly reproduces all characteristics of large dust aggregates, the thermal properties of dust can be analyzed using irregularly shaped, porous, inhomogeneous grains. The asymmetry of the scattering phase function is a good indicator of aggregate size, while the degree of polarization is probably determined by the size of the constituent particles. Optical properties derived from aggregates significantly differ from the most frequently used standard ("astronomical silicate" in spherical grains). We outline a computationally fast and relatively accurate method that can be used for a multiwavelength analysis of aggregate dust in protoplanetary disks.

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arXiv2015

Understanding the water emission in the mid- and far-IR from protoplanetary disks around T~Tauri stars

We investigate which properties of protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars affect the physics and chemistry in the regions where mid- and far-IR water lines originate and their respective line fluxes. We search for diagnostics for future observations. With the code ProDiMo, we build a series of models exploring a large parameter space, computing rotational and rovibrational transitions of water in nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE). We select a sample of transitions in the mid- IR regime and the fundamental ortho and para water transitions in the far-IR. We investigate the chemistry and the local physical conditions in the line emitting regions. We calculate Spitzer spectra for each model and compare far-IR and mid-IR lines. In addition, we use mid-IR colors to tie the water line predictions to the dust continuum. Parameters affecting the water line fluxes in disks by more than a factor of three are : the disk gas mass, the dust-to-gas mass ratio, the dust maximum grain size, ISM(InterStellarMedium) UV radiation field, the mixing parameter of Dubrulle settling, the disk flaring parameter, and the dust size distribution. The first four parameters affect the mid-IR lines much more than the far-IR lines. A key driver behind water spectroscopy is the dust opacity, which sets the location of the water line emitting region. We identify three types of parameters. Parameters, such as dust-to-gas ratio, ISM radiation field, and dust size distribution, affect the mid-IR lines more, while the far-IR transitions are more affected by the flaring index. The gas mass greatly affects lines in both regimes. Higher spectral resolution and line sensitivities, like from the James Webb Space Telescope, are needed to detect a statistically relevant sample of individual water lines to distinguish further between these types of parameters.

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arXiv2014

Signatures of warm carbon monoxide in protoplanetary discs observed with Herschel SPIRE

Molecular gas constitutes the dominant mass component of protoplanetary discs. To date, these sources have not been studied comprehensively at the longest far-infrared and shortest submillimetre wavelengths. This paper presents Herschel SPIRE FTS spectroscopic observations toward 18 protoplanetary discs, covering the entire 450-1540 GHz (666-195 $μ$m) range at R~400-1300. The spectra reveal clear detections of the dust continuum and, in six targets, a significant amount of spectral line emission primarily attributable to $^{12}$CO rotational lines. Other targets exhibit little to no detectable spectral lines. Low signal-to-noise detections also include signatures from $^{13}$CO, [CI] and HCN. For completeness, we present upper limits of non-detected lines in all targets, including low-energy transitions of H2O and CH$^+$ molecules. The ten $^{12}$CO lines that fall within the SPIRE FTS bands trace energy levels of ~50-500 K. Combined with lower and higher energy lines from the literature, we compare the CO rotational line energy distribution with detailed physical-chemical models, for sources where these are available and published. Our 13CO line detections in the disc around Herbig Be star HD 100546 exceed, by factors of ~10-30, the values predicted by a model that matches a wealth of other observational constraints, including the SPIRE $^{12}$CO ladder. To explain the observed $^{12}$CO/$^{13}$CO ratio, it may be necessary to consider the combined effects of optical depth and isotope selective (photo)chemical processes. Considering the full sample of 18 objects, we find that the strongest line emission is observed in discs around Herbig Ae/Be stars, although not all show line emission. In addition, two of the six T Tauri objects exhibit detectable $^{12}$CO lines in the SPIRE range.

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arXiv2014

Constraining the structure of the transition disk HD 135344B (SAO 206462) by simultaneous modeling of multiwavelength gas and dust observations

HD 135344B is an accreting (pre-) transition disk that displays the emission of warm CO extending tens of AU inside its 30 AU dust cavity. We used the dust radiative transfer code MCFOST and the thermochemical code ProDiMo to derive the disk structure from the simultaneous modeling of the spectral energy distribution (SED), VLT/CRIRES CO P(10) 4.75 micron, Herschel/PACS [O I] 63 micron, Spitzer-IRS, and JCMT 12CO J=3-2 spectra, VLTI/PIONIER H-band visibilities, and constraints from (sub-)mm continuum interferometry and near-IR imaging. We found a disk model able to describe the current observations simultaneously. This disk has the following structure. (1) To reproduce the SED, the near-IR interferometry data, and the CO ro-vibrational emission, refractory grains (we suggest carbon) are present inside the silicate sublimation radius (0.08 100 to account for the 870 micron continuum upper limit and the CO P(10) line flux. (5) The gas/dust ratio at 30<R<200 AU is < 10 to simultaneously describe the [O I] 63 micron line flux and the CO P(10) line profile. (6) In the outer disk, most of the mass should be located in the midplane, and a significant fraction of the dust is in large grains. Conclusions: Simultaneous modeling of the gas and dust is required to break the model degeneracies and constrain the disk structure. An increasing gas surface density with radius in the inner dust cavity echoes the effect of a migrating Jovian planet. The low gas mass (a few MJupiter) in the HD 135344B's disk suggests that it is an evolved disk that has already lost a large portion of its mass.

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arXiv2014

Herschel evidence for disk flattening or gas depletion in transitional disks

Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks characterized by reduced near- and mid-infrared emission with respect to full disks. This characteristic spectral energy distribution indicates the presence of an optically thin inner cavity within the dust disk believed to mark the disappearance of the primordial massive disk. We present new Herschel Space Observatory PACS spectra of [OI] 63 micron for 21 transitional disks. Our survey complements the larger Herschel GASPS program "Gas in Protoplanetary Systems" (Dent et al. 2013) by quadrupling the number of transitional disks observed with PACS at this wavelength. [OI] 63 micron traces material in the outer regions of the disk, beyond the inner cavity of most transitional disks. We find that transitional disks have [OI] 63 micron line luminosities two times fainter than their full disk counterparts. We self consistently determine various stellar properties (e.g. bolometric luminosity, FUV excess, etc.) and disk properties (e.g. disk dust mass, etc.) that could influence the [OI] 63 micron line luminosity and we find no correlations that can explain the lower [OI] 63 micron line luminosities in transitional disks. Using a grid of thermo-chemical protoplanetary disk models, we conclude that either transitional disks are less flared than full disks or they possess lower gas-to-dust ratios due to a depletion of gas mass. This result suggests that transitional disks are more evolved than their full disk counterparts, possibly even at large radii.

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arXiv2014

Disk evolution, element abundances and cloud properties of young gas giant planets

We discuss the chemical pre-conditions for planet formation, in terms of gas and ice abundances in a protoplanetary disk, as function of time and position, and the resulting chemical composition and cloud properties in the atmosphere when young gas giant planets form. Large deviations between the abundances of the host star and its gas giants seem likely to occur if the planet formation follows the core-accretion scenario. These deviations stem from the separate evolution of gas and dust in the disk, where the dust forms the planet cores, followed by the final run-away accretion of the left-over gas. ProDiMo protoplanetary disk models are used to predict the chemical evolution of gas and ice in the midplane. We find that cosmic rays play a crucial role in slowly un-blocking the CO, where the liberated oxygen forms water, which then freezes out quickly. Therefore, the C/O ratio in the gas phase is found to gradually increase with time, in a region bracketed by the water and CO ice-lines. In this regions, C/O is found to approach unity after about 5 Myrs, scaling with the cosmic ray ionisation rate. We then explore how the atmospheric chemistry and cloud properties in young gas giants are affected when the non-solar C/O ratios predicted by the disk models are assumed. The DRIFT cloud formation model is applied to study the formation of atmospheric clouds under the influence of varying primordial element abundances and its feedback onto the local gas. We demonstrate that element depletion by cloud formation plays a crucial role in converting an oxygen-rich atmosphere gas into carbon-rich gas when non-solar, primordial element abundances are considered as suggested by disk model.

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arXiv2014

[OI] disk emission in the Taurus star forming region

The structure of protoplanetary disks is thought to be linked to the temperature and chemistry of their dust and gas. Whether the disk is flat or flaring depends on the amount of radiation that it absorbs at a given radius, and on the efficiency with which this is converted into thermal energy. The understanding of these heating and cooling processes is crucial to provide a reliable disk structure for the interpretation of dust continuum emission and gas line fluxes. Especially in the upper layers of the disk, where gas and dust are thermally decoupled, the infrared line emission is strictly related to the gas heating/cooling processes. We aim to study the thermal properties of the disk in the oxygen line emission region, and to investigate the relative importance of X-ray (1-120 Angstrom) and far-UV radiation (FUV, 912-2070 Angstrom) for the heating balance there. We use [OI] 63 micron line fluxes observed in a sample of protoplanetary disks of the Taurus/Auriga star forming region and compare it to the model predictions presented in our previous work. The data were obtained with the PACS instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the Herschel Open Time Key Program GASPS (GAS in Protoplanetary diskS), published in Howard et al. (2013). Our theoretical grid of disk models can reproduce the [OI] absolute fluxes and predict a correlation between [OI] and the sum Lx+Lfuv. The data show no correlation between the [OI] line flux and the X-ray luminosity, the FUV luminosity or their sum. The data show that the FUV or X-ray radiation has no notable impact on the region where the [OI] line is formed. This is in contrast with what is predicted from our models. Possible explanations are that the disks in Taurus are less flaring than the hydrostatic models predict, and/or that other disk structure aspects that were left unchanged in our models are important. ..abridged..

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arXiv2014

Probing the gaseous disk of T Tau N with CN 5-4 lines

We present spectrally resolved Herschel/HIFI observations of the young multiple system T Tau in atomic and molecular lines. While CO, H2O, [C II], and SO lines trace the envelope and the outflowing gas up to velocities of 33 km/s with respect to systemic, the CN 5-4 hyperfine structure lines at 566.7, 566.9 GHz show a narrow double-peaked profile centered at systemic velocity, consistent with an origin in the outer region of the compact disk of T Tau N. Disk modeling of the T Tau N disk with the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo produces CN line fluxes and profiles consistent with the observed ones and constrain the size of the gaseous disk (R_out = 110 (+10, -20) AU) and its inclination (i = 25 \pm 5 degree). The model indicates that the CN lines originate in a disk upper layer at 40-110 AU from the star, which is irradiated by the stellar UV field and heated up to temperatures of 50-700 K. With respect to previously observed CN 2-1 millimeter lines, the CN 5-4 lines appear to be less affected by envelope emission, due to their larger critical density and excitation temperature. Hence, high-J CN lines are a unique confusion-free tracer of embedded disks, such as the disk of T Tau N.

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arXiv2013

CO ro-vibrational lines in HD100546: A search for disc asymmetries and the role of fluorescence

We have studied the emission of CO ro-vibrational lines in the disc around the Herbig Be star HD100546 with the final goal of using these lines as a diagnostic to understand inner disc structure in the context of planet formation. High-resolution IR spectra of CO ro-vibrational emission at eight different position angles were taken with CRIRES at the VLT. From these spectra flux tables, CO ro-vibrational line profiles, and population diagrams were produced. We have investigated variations in the line profile shapes and line strengths as a function of slit position angle. We used the thermochemical disc modelling code ProDiMo based on the chemistry, radiation field, and temperature structure of a previously published model for HD100546. Comparing observations and the model, we investigated the possibility of disc asymmetries, the excitation mechanism (UV fluorescence), the geometry, and physical conditions of the inner disc. The observed CO ro-vibrational lines are largely emitted from the inner rim of the outer disc at 10-13 AU. The line shapes are similar for all v levels and line fluxes from all vibrational levels vary only within one order of magnitude. All line profile asymmetries and variations can be explained with a symmetric disc model to which a slit correction and pointing offset is applied. Because the angular size of the CO emitting region (10-13 AU) and the slit width are comparable the line profiles are very sensitive to the placing of the slit. The model reproduces the line shapes and the fluxes of the v=1-0 lines as well as the spatial extent of the CO ro-vibrational emission. It does not reproduce the observed band ratios of 0.5-0.2 with higher vibrational bands. We find that lower gas volume densities at the surface of the inner rim of the outer disc can make the fluorescence pumping more effcient and reproduce the observed band ratios.

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