Agnes Kospal

ALMA OBSERVATIONS OF THE MOLECULAR GAS IN THE DEBRIS DISK OF THE 30 Myr OLD STAR HD 21997

The 30?Myr old A3-type star HD?21997 is one of the two known debris dust disks having a measurable amount of cold molecular gas. With the goal of understanding the physical state, origin, and evolution of the gas in young debris disks, we obtained CO line observations with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Here, we report on the detection of 12CO and 13CO in the J = 2-1 and J = 3-2 transitions and C18O in the J = 2-1 line. The gas exhibits a Keplerian velocity curve, one of the few direct measurements of Keplerian rotation in young debris disks. The measured CO brightness distribution could be reproduced by a simple star+disk system, whose parameters are r in < 26?AU, r out = 138 ? 20?AU, ?M ?, and i = 32.?6 ? 3.?1. The total CO mass, as calculated from the optically thin C18O line, is about (4-8) ? 10?2?M ?, while the CO line ratios suggest a radiation temperature on the order of 6-9?K. Comparing our results with those obtained for the dust component of the HD?21997 disk from ALMA continuum observations by Mo?r et?al., we conclude that comparable amounts of CO gas and dust are present in the disk. Interestingly, the gas and dust in the HD?21997 system are not colocated, indicating a dust-free inner gas disk within 55?AU of the star. We explore two possible scenarios for the origin of the gas. A secondary origin, which involves gas production from colliding or active planetesimals, would require unreasonably high gas production rates and would not explain why the gas and dust are not colocated. We propose that HD?21997 is a hybrid system where secondary debris dust and primordial gas coexist. HD?21997, whose age exceeds both the model predictions for disk clearing and the ages of the oldest T?Tauri-like or transitional gas disks in the literature, may be a key object linking the primordial and the debris phases of disk evolution.

Herschel view of the large-scale structure in the Chamaeleon dark clouds

The Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex is one of the nearest star-forming sites encompassing three molecular clouds with a different star-formation history, from quiescent (Cha III) to actively forming stars (Cha II), and reaching the end of star-formation (Cha I). To charactize its large-scale structure, we derived column density and temperature maps using PACS and SPIRE observations from the Herschel Gould Belt Survey, and applied several tools, such as filament tracing, power-spectra, \Delta-variance, and probability distribution functions of column density (PDFs), to derive physical properties. The column density maps reveal a different morphological appearance for the three clouds, with a ridge-like structure for Cha I, a clump-dominated regime for Cha II, and an intricate filamentary network for Cha III. The filament width is measured to be around 0.12\pm0.04 pc in the three clouds, and the filaments found to be gravitationally unstable in Cha I and II, but mostly subcritical in Cha III. Faint filaments (striations) are prominent in Cha I showing a preferred alignment with the large-scale magnetic field. The PDFs of all regions show a lognormal distribution at low column densities. For higher densities, the PDF of Cha I shows a turnover indicative of an extended higher density component, culminating with a power-law tail. Cha II shows a power-law tail with a slope characteristic of gravity. The PDF of Cha III can be best fit by a single lognormal. The turbulence properties of the three regions are found to be similar, pointing towards a scenario where the clouds are impacted by large-scale processes. The magnetic field could possibly play an important role for the star-formation efficiency in the Chamaeleon clouds if proven that it can effectively channel material on Cha I, and possibly Cha II, but probably less efficiently on the quiescent Cha III cloud.

A Resolved Debris Disk around the Candidate Planet-hosting Star HD 95086

Recently, a new planet candidate was discovered on direct images around the young (10–17 Myr) A-type star HD 95086. The strong infrared excess of the system indicates that, similar to HR8799, β Pic, and Fomalhaut, the star harbors a circumstellar disk. Aiming to study the structure and gas content of the HD 95086 disk, and to investigate its possible interaction with the newly discovered planet, here we present new optical, infrared, and millimeter observations. We detected no CO emission, excluding the possibility of an evolved gaseous primordial disk. Simple blackbody modeling of the spectral energy distribution suggests the presence of two spatially separate dust belts at radial distances of 6 and 64 AU. Our resolved images obtained with the Herschel Space Observatory reveal a characteristic disk size of ∼6. �� 0 × 5. �� 4 (540 × 490 AU) and disk inclination of ∼25 ◦ . Assuming the same inclination for the planet candidate’s orbit, its reprojected radial distance from the star is 62 AU, very close to the blackbody radius of the outer cold dust ring. The structure of the planetary system at HD 95086 resembles the one around HR8799. Both systems harbor a warm inner dust belt and a broad colder outer disk and giant planet(s) between the two dusty regions. Modeling implies that the candidate planet can dynamically excite the motion of planetesimals even out to 270 AU via their secular perturbation if its orbital eccentricity is larger than about 0.4. Our analysis adds a new example to the three known systems where directly imaged planet(s) and debris disks coexist.

Stirring in massive, young debris discs from spatially resolved Herschel images

A significant fraction of main-sequence stars are encircled by dusty debris discs, where the short-lived dust particles are replenished through collisions between planetesimals. Most destructive collisions occur when the orbits of smaller bodies are dynamically stirred up, either by the gravitational effect of locally formed Pluto-sized planetes- imals (self-stirring scenario), or via secular perturbation caused by an inner giant planet (planetary stirring). The relative importance of these scenarios in debris systems is unknown. Here we present new Herschel Space Observatory imagery of 11 discs selected from the most massive and extended known debris systems. All discs were found to be extended at far-infrared wavelengths, five of them being resolved for the first time. We evaluated the feasibility of the self-stirring scenario by comparing the measured disc sizes with the predictions of the model calculated for the ages of our targets. We concluded that the self-stirring explanation works for seven discs. How- ever, in four cases, the predicted pace of outward propagation of the stirring front, assuming reasonable initial disc masses, was far too low to explain the radial extent of the cold dust. Therefore, for HD 9672, HD 16743, HD21997, and HD95086, another explanation is needed. We performed a similar analysis for β Pic and HR8799, reach- ing the same conclusion. We argue that planetary stirring is a promising possibility to explain the disk properties in these systems. In HR8799 and HD95086 we may already know the potential perturber, since their known outer giant planets could be responsible for the stirring process. Interestingly, the discs around HD 9672, HD 21997, and β Pic are also unique in harbouring detectable amount of molecular CO gas. Our study demonstrates that among the largest and most massive debris discs self-stirring may not be the only active scenario, and potentially planetary stirring is responsible for destructive collisions and debris dust production in a number of systems.

Optical spectroscopy of EX Lupi during quiescence and outburst - Infall, wind, and dynamics in the accretion flow

Astronomy and Astrophysics 544 (2012): A93 Reproduced with permission from Astronomy & Astrophysics

An analysis of the environments of FU orionis objects with Herschel

We present Herschel-HIFI, SPIRE, and PACS 50-670 µm imaging and spectroscopy of six FU Orionis-type objects and candidates (FU Orionis, V1735 Cyg, V1515 Cyg, V1057 Cyg, V1331 Cyg, and HBC 722), ranging in outburst date from 1936-2010, from the “FOOSH” (FU Orionis Objects Surveyed with Herschel) program, as well as ancillary results from Spitzer-IRS and the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory. In their system properties (Lbol, Tbol, line emission), we find that FUors are in a variety of evolutionary states. Additionally, some FUors have features of both Class I and II sources: warm continuum consistent with Class II sources, but rotational line emission typical of Class I, far higher than Class II sources of similar mass/luminosity. Combining several classification techniques, we find an evolutionary sequence consistent with previous mid-IR indicators. We detect [O I] in every source at luminosities consistent with Class 0/I protostars, much greater than in Class II disks. We detect transitions of 13 CO (Jup of 5 to 8) around two sources (V1735 Cyg and HBC 722) but attribute them to nearby protostars. Of the remaining sources, three (FU Ori, V1515 Cyg, and V1331 Cyg) exhibit only low-lying CO, but one (V1057 Cyg) shows CO up to J = 23 ! 22 and evidence for H2O and OH emission, at strengths typical of protostars rather than T Tauri stars. Rotational temperatures for “cool” CO components range from 20-81 K, for � 10 50 total CO molecules. We detect [C I] and [N II] primarily as diffuse emission. Subject headings: stars: pre-main sequence — stars: variables: T Tauri — ISM: jets and outflows — submillimeter: ISM — stars: individual (HBC 722, FU Orionis, V1057 Cyg, V1735 Cyg, V1331 Cyg, V1515 Cyg)

Herschel far-IR observations of the Chamaeleon molecular cloud complex . Chamaeleon I: A first view of young stellar objects in the cloud

Context. The Herschel Gould Belt survey of nearby star forming regions is providing great insights into the early stages of the formation and the evolution of stars and their circumstellar disks. The Chamaeleon I dark cloud is an elongated region of dense dust and gas where star formation is ongoing in two centres, a northern region centred on Ced 112 and a southern cluster subdivided into the two regions Ced 110 and 111. Aims. In this initial study we present Herschel data of previously identified young stellar objects (YSOs) in the cluster, focusing on the spatial distribution of the YSOs and the determination of the relative colours of the protostars and the disk-bearing stars in Chamaeleon I. Methods. Chamaeleon I has been observed as part of the Herschel Gould Belt Survey, using the PACS and SPIRE parallel mode imaging at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm. Source extraction was performed using the getsources software. Results. We have detected 397 sources over the five available PACS and SPIRE bands, and through comparison with previously identified objects in the cluster we have identified 49 YSOs, 4 bright nebular emission features, five CO clumps, and twenty-eight candidate prestellar or starless cores in the Herschel sample. The remaining sample consists of candidate prestellar cores, condensations within the cloud, or background galaxies. The Herschel detected YSOs are highly clustered and mainly associated with the three known Cederblad groups. The observations clearly show that the young stars are forming coincident with the denser regions of cold dust and gas, visible at longer Herschel wavelengths. Those YSOs detected with Herschel were found to have an IRAC m3.6 μm < 10. No difference was found in the Herschel colours between the class I and class II young stars, however the class I sources were brighter than the class II at most Herschel wavelengths. One class III star and three transition disks are detected.

The Herschel Gould Belt Survey in Chamaeleon II - Properties of cold dust in disks around young stellar objects

Context. We report on the Herschel Gould Belt survey (HGBS) of the Chamaeleon II (Cha II) star-forming region, focusing on the detection of Class I to III young stellar objects (YSOs). Aims. We aim at characterizing the circumstellar material around these YSOs and at understanding which disk parameters are most likely constrained by the new HGBS data, which are expected to be crucial for studying the transition from optically thick disks to evolved debris-type disks. Methods. We recovered 29 of the 63 known YSOs in Cha II with a detection in at least one of the PACS/SPIRE pass-bands: 3 Class I YSOs (i.e.,100%), 1 flat source (i.e., 50%), 21 Class II objects (i.e., 55%), 3 Class III objects (i.e, 16%), and the unclassified far-infrared source IRAS 12522-7640. We explored PACS/SPIRE colors of this sample and modeled their spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from the optical to Herschel’s wavelengths with the RADMC-2D radiative transfer code. Results. We find that YSO colors are typically confined to the following ranges: −0.7 ≲ log (F_(70)/F_(160)) ≲ 0.5, −0.5 ≲ log (F_(160)/F_(250)) ≲ 0.6, 0.05 ≲ log (F_(250)/F_(350)) ≲ 0.25 and −0.1 ≲ log (F_(350)/F_(500)) ≲ 0.5. These color ranges are expected to be only marginally contaminated by extragalactic sources and field stars and, hence, provide a useful YSO selection tool when applied together. We were able to model the SED of 26 of the 29 detected YSOs. We discuss the degeneracy/limitations of our SED fitting results and adopted the Bayesian method to estimate the probability of different values for the derived disk parameters. The Cha II YSOs present typical disk inner radii ≲0.1 AU, as previously estimated in the literature on the basis of Spitzer data. Our probability analysis shows that, thanks to the new Herschel data, the lower limits to the disk mass (M_(disk)) and characteristic radius (R_C) are well constrained, while the flaring angle (1 + φ) is only marginally constrained. The lower limit to R_C is typically around 50 AU. The lower limits to M_(disk) are proportional to the stellar masses with a typical 0.3% ratio, i.e., in the range estimated in the literature for young Class II stars and brown dwarfs across a broad range of stellar masses. The estimated flaring angles, although very uncertain, point toward very flat disks (1 + φ ≲ 1.2), as found for low-mass M-type YSO samples in other star-forming regions. Thus, our results support the idea that disk properties show a dependence on stellar properties.

Mid-Infrared Spectral Variability Atlas of Young Stellar Objects

Optical and near-infrared variability is a well-known property of young stellar objects. However, a growing number of recent studies claim that a considerable fraction of them also exhibit mid-infrared flux changes. With the aim of studying and interpreting variability on a decadal timescale, here we present a mid-infrared spectral atlas containing observations of 68 low- and intermediate-mass young stellar objects. The atlas consists of 2.5-11.6 μm low-resolution spectra obtained with the ISOPHOT-S instrument on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) between 1996 and 1998, as well as 5.2-14.5 μm low-resolution spectra obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph instrument on board the Spitzer Space Telescope between 2004 and 2007. The observations were retrieved from the ISO and Spitzer archives and were post-processed interactively by our own routines. For those 47 objects where multi-epoch spectra were available, we analyze mid-infrared spectral variability on annual and/or decadal timescales. We identify 37 variable candidate sources. Many stars show wavelength-independent flux changes, possibly due to variable accretion rates. In several systems, all exhibiting 10 μm silicate emission, the variability of the 6-8 μm continuum, and the silicate feature exhibit different amplitudes. A possible explanation is variable shadowing of the silicate-emitting region by an inner disk structure of changing height or extra silicate emission from dust clouds in the disk atmosphere. Our results suggest that mid-infrared variability, in particular, the wavelength-dependent changes, is more ubiquitous than was known before. Interpreting this variability is a new possibility for exploring the structure of the disk and its dynamical processes.

Exploring the circumstellar environment of the young eruptive star V2492 Cygni

Context. V2492 Cyg is a young eruptive star that went into outburst in 2010. The near-infrared color changes observed since the outburst peak suggest that the source belongs to a newly defined sub-class of young eruptive stars, where time-dependent accretion and variable line-of-sight extinction play a combined role in the flux changes. Aims. In order to learn about the origin of the light variations and to explore the circumstellar and interstellar environment of V2492 Cyg, we monitored the source at ten different wavelengths, between 0.55 μm and 2.2 μm from the ground and between 3.6 μm and 160 μm from space. Methods. We analyze the light curves and study the color−color diagrams via comparison with the standard reddening path. We examine the structure of the molecular cloud hosting V2492 Cyg by computing temperature and optical depth maps from the far-infrared data. Results. We find that the shapes of the light curves at different wavelengths are strictly self-similar and that the observed variability is related to a single physical process, most likely variable extinction. We suggest that the central source is episodically occulted by a dense dust cloud in the inner disk and, based on the invariability of the far-infrared fluxes, we propose that it is a long-lived rather than a transient structure. In some respects, V2492 Cyg can be regarded as a young, embedded analog of UX Orionis-type stars. Conclusions. The example of V2492 Cyg demonstrates that the light variations of young eruptive stars are not exclusively related to changing accretion. The variability provided information on an azimuthally asymmetric structural element in the inner disk. Such an asymmetric density distribution in the terrestrial zone may also have consequences for the initial conditions of planet formation.