We present Atacama Large Millimeter/Sub-Millimeter Array (ALMA) Band 6 observations of a complete sample of protoplanetary disks in the young (∼1-3 Myr) Lupus star-forming region, covering the 1.33 ...mm continuum and the 12CO, 13CO, and C18O J = 2-1 lines. The spatial resolution is ∼0 25 with a medium 3 continuum sensitivity of 0.30 mJy, corresponding to Mdust ∼ 0.2 M⊕. We apply Keplerian masking to enhance the signal-to-noise ratios of our 12CO zero-moment maps, enabling measurements of gas disk radii for 22 Lupus disks; we find that gas disks are universally larger than millimeter dust disks by a factor of two on average, likely due to a combination of the optically thick gas emission and the growth and inward drift of the dust. Using the gas disk radii, we calculate the dimensionless viscosity parameter, visc, finding a broad distribution and no correlations with other disk or stellar parameters, suggesting that viscous processes have not yet established quasi-steady states in Lupus disks. By combining our 1.33 mm continuum fluxes with our previous 890 m continuum observations, we also calculate the millimeter spectral index, mm, for 70 Lupus disks; we find an anticorrelation between mm and millimeter flux for low-mass disks (Mdust 5), followed by a flattening as disks approach mm 2, which could indicate faster grain growth in higher-mass disks, but may also reflect their larger optically thick components. In sum, this work demonstrates the continuous stream of new insights into disk evolution and planet formation that can be gleaned from unbiased ALMA disk surveys.
Observational studies reveal that complex organic molecules (COMs) can be found in various objects associated with different star formation stages. The identification of COMs in prestellar cores, ...i.e., cold environments in which thermally induced chemistry can be excluded and radiolysis is limited by cosmic rays and cosmic-ray-induced UV photons, is particularly important as this stage sets up the initial chemical composition from which ultimately stars and planets evolve. Recent laboratory results demonstrate that molecules as complex as glycolaldehyde and ethylene glycol are efficiently formed on icy dust grains via nonenergetic atom addition reactions between accreting H atoms and CO molecules, a process that dominates surface chemistry during the "CO freeze-out stage" in dense cores. In the present study we demonstrate that a similar mechanism results in the formation of the biologically relevant molecule glycerol-HOCH2CH(OH)CH2OH-a three-carbon-bearing sugar alcohol necessary for the formation of membranes of modern living cells and organelles. Our experimental results are fully consistent with a suggested reaction scheme in which glycerol is formed along a chain of radical-radical and radical-molecule interactions between various reactive intermediates produced upon hydrogenation of CO ice or its hydrogenation products. The tentative identification of the chemically related simple sugar glyceraldehyde-HOCH2CH(OH)CHO-is discussed as well. These new laboratory findings indicate that the proposed reaction mechanism holds much potential to form even more complex sugar alcohols and simple sugars.
Atomic and molecular data for the transitions of a number of astrophysically interesting species are summarized, including energy levels, statistical weights, Einstein A-coefficients and collisional ...rate coefficients. Available collisional data from quantum chemical calculations and experiments are extrapolated to higher energies (up to E/k similar to 1000 K). These data, which are made publically available through the WWW at http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/ similar to moldata, are essential input for non-LTE line radiative transfer programs. An online version of a computer program for performing statistical equilibrium calculations is also made available as part of the database. Comparisons of calculated emission lines using different sets of collisional rate coefficients are presented. This database should form an important tool in analyzing observations from current and future (sub)millimetre and infrared telescopes.
Context.
The gas kinetic temperature (
T
K
) determines the physical and chemical evolution of the interstellar medium (ISM). However, obtaining reliable
T
K
estimates usually requires expensive ...observations including the combination of multi-line analysis and dedicated radiative transfer calculations.
Aims.
This work explores the use of HCN and HNC observations, and particularly the
I
(HCN)-to-
I
(HNC) intensity ratio (
I
(HCN)/
I
(HNC)) of their
J
= 1–0 lines, as direct probe of the gas kinetic temperature in the molecular ISM.
Methods.
We obtained a new set of large-scale observations of the HCN and HNC (1–0) lines throughout the Integral Shape Filament (ISF) in Orion. In combination with ancillary gas and dust temperature measurements, we find a systematic temperature dependence of the observed
I
(HCN)-to-
I
(HNC) intensity ratio throughout our maps. Additional comparisons with chemical models demonstrate that these observed
I
(HCN)/
I
(HNC) variations are driven by the effective destruction and isomerization mechanisms of HNC under low-energy barriers.
Results.
The observed variations of
I
(HCN)/
I
(HNC) with
T
K
can be described with a two-part linear function. This empirical calibration is then used to create a temperature map of the entire ISF. Comparisons with similar dust temperature measurements in this cloud, as well as in other regions and galactic surveys, validate this simple technique for obtaining direct estimates of the gas kinetic temperature in a wide range of physical conditions and scales with an optimal working range between 15 K ≲
T
K
≤ 40 K.
Conclusions.
Both observations and models demonstrate the strong sensitivity of the
I
(HCN)/
I
(HNC) ratio to the gas kinetic temperature. Since these lines are easily obtained in observations of local and extragalactic sources, our results highlight the potential use of this observable as new chemical thermometer for the ISM.
The astronomical gas-phase detection of simple species and small organic molecules in cold pre-stellar cores, with abundances as high as ∼10−8-10−9 nH, contradicts the generally accepted idea that at ...10 K, such species should be fully frozen out on grain surfaces. A physical or chemical mechanism that results in a net transfer from solid-state species into the gas phase offers a possible explanation. Reactive desorption, i.e., desorption following the exothermic formation of a species, is one of the options that has been proposed. In astronomical models, the fraction of molecules desorbed through this process is handled as a free parameter, as experimental studies quantifying the impact of exothermicity on desorption efficiencies are largely lacking. In this work, we present a detailed laboratory study with the goal of deriving an upper limit for the reactive desorption efficiency of species involved in the CO-H2CO-CH3OH solid-state hydrogenation reaction chain. The limit for the overall reactive desorption fraction is derived by precisely investigating the solid-state elemental carbon budget, using reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy and the calibrated solid-state band-strength values for CO, H2CO and CH3OH. We find that for temperatures in the range of 10 to 14 K, an upper limit of 0.24 0.02 for the overall elemental carbon loss upon CO conversion into CH3OH. This corresponds with an effective reaction desorption fraction of ≤0.07 per hydrogenation step, or ≤0.02 per H-atom induced reaction, assuming that H-atom addition and abstraction reactions equally contribute to the overall reactive desorption fraction along the hydrogenation sequence. The astronomical relevance of this finding is discussed.
A new collection of photodissociation and photoionisation cross sections for 102 atoms and molecules of astrochemical interest has been assembled, along with a brief review of the basic physical ...processes involved. These have been used to calculate dissociation and ionisation rates, with uncertainties, in a standard ultraviolet interstellar radiation field (ISRF) and for other wavelength-dependent radiation fields, including cool stellar and solar radiation, Lyman-α dominated radiation, and a cosmic-ray induced ultraviolet flux. The new ISRF rates generally agree within 30% with our previous compilations, with a few notable exceptions. Comparison with other databases such as PHIDRATES is made. The reduction of rates in shielded regions was calculated as a function of dust, molecular and atomic hydrogen, atomic C, and self-shielding column densities. The relative importance of these shielding types depends on the atom or molecule in question and the assumed dust optical properties. All of the new data are publicly available from the Leiden photodissociation and ionisation database. Sensitivity of the calculated rates to variation of temperature and isotope, and uncertainties in measured or calculated cross sections, are tested and discussed. Tests were conducted on the new rates with an interstellar-cloud chemical model, and find general agreement (within a factor of two) in abundances obtained with the previous iteration of the Leiden database assuming an ISRF, and order-of-magnitude variations assuming various kinds of stellar radiation. The newly parameterised dust-shielding factors makes a factor-of-two difference to many atomic and molecular abundances relative to parameters currently in the UDfA and KIDA astrochemical reaction databases. The newly-calculated cosmic-ray induced photodissociation and ionisation rates differ from current standard values up to a factor of 5. Under high temperature and cosmic-ray-flux conditions the new rates alter the equilibrium abundances of abundant dark cloud abundances by up to a factor of two. The partial cross sections for H2O and NH3 photodissociation forming OH, O, NH2 and NH are also evaluated and lead to radiation-field-dependent branching ratios.
Context. Complex organic molecules are detected in many sources in the warm inner regions of envelopes surrounding deeply embedded protostars. Exactly how these species form remains an open question. ...Aims. This study aims to constrain the formation of complex organic molecules through comparisons of their abundances towards the Class 0 protostellar binary IRAS 16293–2422. Methods. We utilised observations from the ALMA Protostellar Interferometric Line Survey of IRAS 16293–2422. The species identification and the rotational temperature and column density estimation were derived by fitting the extracted spectra towards IRAS 16293–2422 A and IRAS 16293–2422 B with synthetic spectra. The majority of the work in this paper pertains to the analysis of IRAS 16293–2422 A for a comparison with the results from the other binary component, which have already been published. Results. We detect 15 different complex species, as well as 16 isotopologues towards the most luminous companion protostar IRAS 16293–2422 A. Tentative detections of an additional 11 isotopologues are reported. We also searched for and report on the first detections of methoxymethanol (CH 3 OCH 2 OH) and trans-ethyl methyl ether (t-C 2 H 5 OCH 3 ) towards IRAS 16293–2422 B and the follow-up detection of deuterated isotopologues of acetaldehyde (CH 2 DCHO and CH 3 CDO). Twenty-four lines of doubly-deuterated methanol (CHD 2 OH) are also identified. Conclusions. The comparison between the two protostars of the binary system shows significant differences in abundance for some of the species, which are partially correlated to their spatial distribution. The spatial distribution is consistent with the sublimation temperature of the species; those with higher expected sublimation temperatures are located in the most compact region of the hot corino towards IRAS 16293–2422 A. This spatial differentiation is not resolved in IRAS 16293–2422 B and will require observations at a higher angular resolution. In parallel, the list of identified CHD 2 OH lines shows the need of accurate spectroscopic data including their line strength.
Abstract
The
σ
Orionis cluster is important for studying protoplanetary disk evolution, as its intermediate age (∼3–5 Myr) is comparable to the median disk lifetime. We use ALMA to conduct a ...high-sensitivity survey of dust and gas in 92 protoplanetary disks around
σ
Orionis members with
M
*
≳ 0.1
M
⊙
. Our observations cover the 1.33 mm continuum and several CO
J
= 2–1 lines: out of 92 sources, we detect 37 in the millimeter continuum and 6 in
12
CO, 3 in
13
CO, and none in C
18
O. Using the continuum emission to estimate dust mass, we find only 11 disks with
M
dust
≳ 10
M
⊕
, indicating that after only a few Myr of evolution most disks lack sufficient dust to form giant planet cores. Stacking the individually undetected continuum sources limits their average dust mass to 5× lower than that of the faintest detected disk, supporting theoretical models that indicate rapid dissipation once disk clearing begins. Comparing the protoplanetary disk population in
σ
Orionis to those of other star-forming regions supports the steady decline in average dust mass and the steepening of the
M
dust
–
M
*
relation with age; studying these evolutionary trends can inform the relative importance of different disk processes during key eras of planet formation. External photoevaporation from the central O9 star is influencing disk evolution throughout the region: dust masses clearly decline with decreasing separation from the photoionizing source, and the handful of CO detections exist at projected separations of >1.5 pc. Collectively, our findings indicate that giant planet formation is inherently rare and/or well underway by a few Myr of age.
ABSTRACT The total gas mass of a protoplanetary disk is a fundamental, but poorly determined, quantity. A new technique has been demonstrated to assess directly the bulk molecular gas reservoir of ...molecular hydrogen using the HD J = 1-0 line at 112 m. In this work we present a Herschel Space Observatory10 survey of six additional T Tauri disks in the HD line. Line emission is detected at >3 significance in two cases: DM Tau and GM Aur. For the other four disks, we establish upper limits to the line flux. Using detailed disk structure and ray-tracing models, we calculate the temperature structure and dust mass from modeling the observed spectral energy distributions, and we include the effect of UV gas heating to determine the amount of gas required to fit the HD line. The ranges of gas masses are 1.0-4.7 × 10−2 for DM Tau and 2.5-20.4 × 10−2 for GM Aur. These values are larger than those found using CO for GM Aur, while the CO-derived gas mass for DM Tau is consistent with the lower end of our mass range. This suggests a CO chemical depletion from the gas phase of up to a factor of five for DM Tau and up to two orders of magnitude for GM Aur. We discuss how future analysis can narrow the mass ranges further.
ABSTRACT We present the first high-resolution sub-millimeter survey of both dust and gas for a large population of protoplanetary disks. Characterizing fundamental properties of protoplanetary disks ...on a statistical level is critical to understanding how disks evolve into the diverse exoplanet population. We use the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) to survey 89 protoplanetary disks around stars with in the young (1-3 Myr), nearby (150-200 pc) Lupus complex. Our observations cover the 890 m continuum and the 13CO and C18O 3-2 lines. We use the sub-millimeter continuum to constrain to a few Martian masses (0.2-0.4 M⊕) and the CO isotopologue lines to constrain to roughly a Jupiter mass (assuming an interstellar medium (ISM)-like abundance). Of 89 sources, we detect 62 in continuum, 36 in 13CO, and 11 in C18O at significance. Stacking individually undetected sources limits their average dust mass to Lunar masses (0.03 M⊕), indicating rapid evolution once disk clearing begins. We find a positive correlation between and M*, and present the first evidence for a positive correlation between and M*, which may explain the dependence of giant planet frequency on host star mass. The mean dust mass in Lupus is 3× higher than in Upper Sco, while the dust mass distributions in Lupus and Taurus are statistically indistinguishable. Most detected disks have and gas-to-dust ratios , assuming an ISM-like abundance; unless CO is very depleted, the inferred gas depletion indicates that planet formation is well underway by a few Myr and may explain the unexpected prevalence of super-Earths in the exoplanet population.