Work

The Structure and Dynamics of Molecular Gas in Planet-forming Zones: a Crires Spectro-astrometric Survey

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: We present a spectro-astrometric survey of molecular gas in the inner regions of 16 protoplanetary disks using CRIRES, the high-resolution infrared imaging spectrometer on the Very Large Telescope. Spectro-astrometry with CRIRES measures the spatial extent of line emission to sub-milliarcsecond precision, or <0.2 AU at the distance of the observed targets. The sample consists of gas-rich disks surrounding stars with spectral types ranging from K to A. The properties of the spectro-astrometric signals divide the sources into two distinct phenomenological classes: one that shows clear Keplerian astrometric spectra and one in which the astrometric signatures are dominated by gas with strong non-Keplerian (radial) motions. Similarly to the near-infrared continuum emission, as determined by interferometry, we find that the size of the CO line emitting region in the Keplerian sources obeys a size–luminosity relation as R CO ∝ L 0.5 * . The non-Keplerian spectro-astrometric signatures are likely indicative of the presence of wide-angle disk winds. The central feature of the winds is a strong sub-Keplerian velocity field due to conservation of angular momentum as the wind pressure drives the gas outward. We construct a parameterized two-dimensional disk+wind model that reproduces the observed characteristics of the observed CO spectra and astrometry. The modeled winds indicate mass-loss rates of ≳ 10 −10 to 10 −8 M ☉ yr −1 . We suggest a unifying model in which all disks have slow molecular winds, but where the magnitude of the mass-loss rate determines the degree to which the mid-infrared molecular lines are dominated by the wind relative to the Keplerian disk surface.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1088/0004-637x/733/2/84

Authors: Klaus M. Pontoppidan, Geoffrey A. Blake, Alain Smette

Institutions: Space Telescope Science Institute, California Institute of Technology, European Southern Observatory

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute

Awards: G433322167, G4518818167, G58316358, G6273510985