R. Visser

The photodissociation and chemistry of CO isotopologues: applications to interstellar clouds and circumstellar disks

Aims. Photodissociation by UV light is an important destruction mechanism for carbon monoxide (CO) in many astrophysical environments, ranging from interstellar clouds to protoplanetary disks. The aim of this work is to gain a better understanding of the depth dependence and isotope-selective nature of this process. Methods. We present a photodissociation model based on recent spectroscopic data from the literature, which allows us to compute depth-dependent and isotope-selective photodissociation rates at higher accuracy than in previous work. The model includes self-shielding, mutual shielding and shielding by atomic and molecular hydrogen, and it is the first such model to include the rare isotopologues C17O and 13C17O. We couple it to a simple chemical network to analyse CO abundances in diffuse and translucent clouds, photon-dominated regions, and circumstellar disks. Results. The photodissociation rate in the unattenuated interstellar radiation field is 2.6

PHOTODESORPTION OF ICES. II. H2O AND D2O

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Water in Star-forming Regions with the Herschel Space Observatory (WISH). I. Overview of Key Program and First Results

10-10 s-1, 30% higher than currently adopted values. Increasing the excitation temperature or the Doppler width can reduce the photodissociation rates and the isotopic selectivity by as much as a factor of three for temperatures above 100 K. The model reproduces column densities observed towards diffuse clouds and PDRs, and it offers an explanation for both the enhanced and the reduced N(12CO)/N(13CO) ratios seen in diffuse clouds. The photodissociation of C17O and 13C17O shows almost exactly the same depth dependence as that of C18O and 13C18O, respectively, so 17O and 18O are equally fractionated with respect to 16O. This supports the recent hypothesis that CO photodissociation in the solar nebula is responsible for the anomalous 17O and 18O abundances in meteorites. Grain growth in circumstellar disks can enhance the N(12CO)/N(C17O) and N(12CO)/N(C18O) ratios by a factor of ten relative to the initial isotopic abundances.

PROSAC: a submillimeter array survey of low-mass protostars II. The mass evolution of envelopes, disks, and stars from the Class 0 through I stages

Gaseous H2O has been detected in several cold astrophysical environments, where the observed abundances cannot be explained by thermal desorption of H2O ice or by H2O gas-phase formation. These observations hence suggest an efficient nonthermal ice desorption mechanism. Here, we present experimentally determined UV photodesorption yields of H2O and D2O ices and deduce their photodesorption mechanism. The ice photodesorption is studied under ultrahigh vacuum conditions and at astrochemically relevant temperatures (18–100 K) using a hydrogen discharge lamp (7–10.5 eV), which simulates the interstellar UV field. The ice desorption during irradiation is monitored using reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy of the ice and simultaneous mass spectrometry of the desorbed species. The photodesorption yield per incident photon, Ypd( T, x), is identical for H2O and D2O and its dependence on ice thickness and temperature is described empirically by Ypd( T, x) = Ypd( T, x > 8)(1 − e −x/ l(T ) ), where x is the ice thickness in monolayers (MLs) and l(T )i s a temperature-dependent ice diffusion parameter that varies between ∼1.3 ML at 30 K and 3.0 ML at 100 K. For thick ices, the yield is linearly dependent on temperature due to increased diffusion of ice species such that Ypd( T, x >8) = 10 −3 (1. 3+0 .032 × T ) UV photon −1 , with a 60% uncertainty for the absolute yield. The increased diffusion also results in an increasing H2O:OH desorption product ratio with temperature from 0.7:1.0 at 20 K to 2.0:1.2 at 100 K. The yield does not depend on the substrate, the UV photon flux, or the UV fluence. The yield is also independent of the initial ice structure since UV photons efficiently amorphize H2O ice. The results are consistent with theoretical predictions of H2O photodesorption at low temperatures and partly in agreement with a previous experimental study. Applying the experimentally determined yield to a Herbig Ae/Be star+disk model provides an estimate of the amount of gas-phase H2O that may be observed by, e.g., Herschel in an example astrophysical environment. The model shows that UV photodesorption of ices increases the H2O content by orders of magnitude in the disk surface region compared to models where nonthermal desorption is ignored.

Water in star-forming regions with Herschel (WISH): II. Evolution of 557 GHz 110-101 emission in low-mass protostars

Water In Star-forming regions with Herschel (WISH) is a key program on the Herschel Space Observatory designed to probe the physical and chemical structures of young stellar objects using water and related molecules and to follow the water abundance from collapsing clouds to planet-forming disks. About 80 sources are targeted, covering a wide ranee of luminosities-from low ( 10(5) L-circle dot)-and a wide range of evolutionary stages-from cold prestellar cores to warm protostellar envelopes and outflows to disks around young stars. Both the HIFI and PACS instruments are used to observe a variety of lines of H2O, (H2O)-O-18 and chemically related species at the source position and in small maps around the protostars and selected outflow positions. In addition, high-frequency lines of CO, (CO)-C-13, and (CO)-O-18 are obtained with Herschel and are complemented by ground-based observations of dust continuum, HDO, CO and its isotopologs, and other molecules to ensure a self-consistent data set for analysis. An overview of the scientific motivation and observational strategy of the program is given, together with the modeling approach and analysis tools that have been developed. Initial science results are presented. These include a lack of water in cold gas at abundances that are lower than most predictions, strong water emission from shocks in protostellar environments, the importance of UV radiation in heating the gas along outflow walls across the full range of luminosities, and surprisingly widespread detection of the chemically related hydrides OH+ and H2O+ in outflows and foreground gas. Quantitative estimates of the energy budget indicate that H2O is generally not the dominant coolant in the warm dense gas associated with protostars. Very deep limits on the cold gaseous water reservoir in the outer regions of protoplanetary disks are obtained that have profound implications for our understanding of grain growth and mixing in disks.

The chemical history of molecules in circumstellar disks - I. Ices

Context. The key question about early protostellar evolution is how matter is accreted from the large-scale molecular cloud, through the circumstellar disk onto the central star. Aims. We constrain the masses of the envelopes, disks, and central stars of a sample of low-mass protostars and compare the results to theoretical models for the evolution of young stellar objects through the early protostellar stages. Methods. A sample of 20 Class 0 and I protostars has been observed in continuum at (sub)millimeter wavelengths at high angular resolution (typically 2 �� ) with the submillimeter array. Using detailed dust radiative transfer models of the interferometric data, as well as single-dish continuum observations, we have developed a framework for disentangling the continuum emission from the envelopes and disks, and from that estimated their masses. For the Class I sources in the sample HCO + 3–2 line emission was furthermore observed with the submillimeter array. Four of these sources show signs of Keplerian rotation, making it possible to determine the masses of the central stars. In the other sources the disks are masked by optically thick envelope and outflow emission. Results. Both Class 0 and I protostars are surrounded by disks with typical masses of about 0.05 M� , although significant scatter is seen in the derived disk masses for objects within both evolutionary stages. No evidence is found for a correlation between the disk . .. . ..

C2D Spitzer-IRS spectra of disks around T Tauri stars. II. PAH emission features

Context. Water is a key tracer of dynamics and chemistry in low-mass star-forming regions, but spectrally resolved observations have so far been limited in sensitivity and angular resolution, and only data from the brightest low-mass protostars have been published. Aims. The first systematic survey of spectrally resolved water emission in 29 low-mass (L 10 km s(-1)). The water abundance in the outer cold envelope is low, greater than or similar to 10(-10). The different H2O profile components show a clear evolutionary trend: in the younger Class 0 sources the emission is dominated by outflow components originating inside an infalling envelope. When large-scale infall diminishes during the Class I phase, the outflow weakens and H2O emission all but disappears.

The chemical history of molecules in circumstellar disks - II. Gas-phase species

Context. Many chemical changes occur during the collapse of a molecular cloud to form a low-mass star and the surrounding disk. One-dimensional models have been used so far to analyse these chemical processes, but they cannot properly describe the incorporation of material into disks. Aims. The goal of this work is to understand how material changes chemically as it is transported from the cloud to the star and the disk. Of special interest is the chemical history of the material in the disk at the end of the collapse. Methods. A two-dimensional, semi-analytical model is presented that, for the first time, follows the chemical evolution from the pre-stellar core to the protostar and circumstellar disk. The model computes infall trajectories from any point in the cloud and tracks the radial and vertical motion of material in the viscously evolving disk. It includes a full time-dependent radiative transfer treatment of the dust temperature, which controls much of the chemistry. A small parameter grid is explored to understand the effects of the sound speed and the mass and rotation of the cloud. The freeze-out and evaporation of carbon monoxide (CO) and water (H 2 O), as well as the potential for forming complex organic molecules in ices, are considered as important first steps towards illustrating the full chemistry. Results. Both species freeze out towards the centre before the collapse begins. Pure CO ice evaporates during the infall phase and re-adsorbs in those parts of the disk that cool below the CO desorption temperature of ∼ 18 K. Water remains solid almost everywhere during the infall and disk formation phases and evaporates within ∼10 AU of the star. Mixed CO-H 2 O ices are important in keeping some solid CO above 18 K and in explaining the presence of CO in comets. Material that ends up in the planet- and comet-forming zones of the disk (∼5-30 AU from the star) is predicted to spend enough time in a warm zone (several 104 yr at a dust temperature of 20-40 K) during the collapse to form first-generation complex organic species on the grains. The dynamical timescales in the hot inner envelope (hot core or hot corino) are too short for abundant formation of second-generation molecules by high-temperature gas-phase chemistry.

Water cooling of shocks in protostellar outflows: Herschel-PACS map of L1157

Aims. We search for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) features towards young low-mass (T Tauri) stars and compare them with surveys of intermediate mass (Herbig Ae/Be) stars. The presence and strength of the PAH features are interpreted with disk radiative transfer models exploring the PAH feature dependence on the incident UV radiation, PAH abundance and disk parameters. Methods. Spitzer Space Telescope 5-35 mu m spectra of 54 pre-main sequence stars with disks were obtained, consisting of 38 T Tauri, 7 Herbig Ae/Be and 9 stars with unknown spectral type. Results. Compact PAH emission is detected towards at least 8 sources of which 5 are Herbig Ae/Be stars. The 11.2 mu m PAH feature is detected in all of these sources, as is the 6.2 mu m PAH feature for the 4 sources for which short wavelength data are available. However, the 7.7 and 8.6 mu m features appear strongly in only 1 of these 4 sources. Based on the 11.2 mu m feature, PAH emission is observed towards at least 3 T Tauri stars, with 14 tentative detections, resulting in a lower limit to the PAH detection rate of 8%. The lowest mass source with PAH emission in our sample is T Cha with a spectral type G8. All 4 sources in our sample with evidence for dust holes in their inner disk show PAH emission, increasing the feature/continuum ratio. Typical 11.2 mu m line intensities are an order of magnitude lower than those observed for the more massive Herbig Ae/Be stars. Measured line fluxes indicate PAH abundances that are factors of 10-100 lower than standard interstellar values. Conversely, PAH features from disks exposed to stars with T(eff)

Modelling Herschel observations of hot molecular gas emission from embedded low-mass protostars

Context. The chemical composition of a molecular cloud changes dramatically as it collapses to form a low-mass protostar and circumstellar disk. Two-dimensional (2D) chemodynamical models are required to properly study this process. Aims. The goal of this work is to follow, for the first time, the chemical evolution in two dimensions all the way from a pre-stellar core into a circumstellar disk. Of special interest is the question whether the chemical composition of the disk is a result of chemical processing during the collapse phase, or whether it is determined by in situ processing after the disk has formed. Methods. Our model combines a semi-analytical method to get 2D axisymmetric density and velocity structures with detailed radiative transfer calculations to get temperature profiles and UV fluxes. Material is followed in from the core to the disk and a full gas-phase chemistry network – including freeze-out onto and evaporation from cold dust grains – is evolved along these trajectories. The abundances thus obtained are compared to the results from a static disk model and to observations of comets. Results. The chemistry during the collapse phase is dominated by a few key processes, such as the evaporation of CO or the photodissociation of H2O. Depending on the physical conditions encountered along specific trajectories, some of these processes are absent. At the end of the collapse phase, the disk can be divided into zones with different chemical histories. The disk is not in chemical equilibrium at the end of the collapse, so care must be taken when choosing the initial abundances for stand-alone disk chemistry models. Our model results imply that comets must be formed from material with different chemical histories: some of it is strongly processed, some of it remains pristine. Variations between individual comets are possible if they formed at different positions or different times in the solar nebula.