Exocometary Gas in the HD 181327 Debris Ring Marino, S.; Matra, L.; Stark, C. ...
Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
08/2016, Volume:
460, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
An increasing number of observations have shown that gaseous debris discs are not an exception. However, until now, we only knew of cases around A stars. Here we present the first detection of 12CO ...(2-1) disc emission around an F star, HD 181327, obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations at 1.3 mm. The continuum and CO emission are resolved into an axisymmetric disc with ring-like morphology. Using a Markov chain Monte Carlo method coupled with radiative transfer calculations, we study the dust and CO mass distribution. We find the dust is distributed in a ring with a radius of 86.0 +/- 0.4 au and a radial width of 23.2 +/- 1.0 au. At this frequency, the ring radius is smaller than in the optical, revealing grain size segregation expected due to radiation pressure. We also report on the detection of low-level continuum emission beyond the main ring out to approximately 200 au. We model the CO emission in the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium regime and we find that the CO is co-located with the dust, with a total CO gas mass ranging between 1.2 x 10(exp -6) solar mass and 2.9 x 10(exp -6) solar mass, depending on the gas kinetic temperature and collisional partners densities. The CO densities and location suggest a secondary origin, i.e. released from icy planetesimals in the ring. We derive a CO+CO2 cometary composition that is consistent with Solar system comets. Due to the low gas densities, it is unlikely that the gas is shaping the dust distribution.
ABSTRACT
The presence of CO gas around 10–50 Myr old A stars with debris discs has sparked debate on whether the gas is primordial or secondary. Since secondary gas released from planetesimals is ...poor in H2, it was thought that CO would quickly photodissociate never reaching the high levels observed around the majority of A stars with bright debris discs. Kral et al. showed that neutral carbon produced by CO photodissociation can effectively shield CO and potentially explain the high CO masses around 9 A stars with bright debris discs. Here, we present a new model that simulates the gas viscous evolution, accounting for carbon shielding and how the gas release rate decreases with time as the planetesimal disc loses mass. We find that the present gas mass in a system is highly dependant on its evolutionary path. Since gas is lost on long time-scales, it can retain a memory of the initial disc mass. Moreover, we find that gas levels can be out of equilibrium and quickly evolving from a shielded on to an unshielded state. With this model, we build the first population synthesis of gas around A stars, which we use to constrain the disc viscosity. We find a good match with a high viscosity (α ∼ 0.1), indicating that gas is lost on time-scales ∼1–10 Myr. Moreover, our model also shows that high CO masses are not expected around FGK stars since their planetesimal discs are born with lower masses, explaining why shielded discs are only found around A stars. Finally, we hypothesize that the observed carbon cavities could be due to radiation pressure or accreting planets.
Recent Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations present mounting evidence for the presence of exocometary gas released within Kuiper Belt analogs around nearby main-sequence stars. ...This represents a unique opportunity to study their ice reservoir at the younger ages when volatile delivery to planets is most likely to occur. We here present the detection of CO J = 2-1 emission colocated with dust emission from the cometary belt in the 440 Myr old Fomalhaut system. Through spectrospatial filtering, we achieve a 5.4 detection and determine that the ring's sky-projected rotation axis matches that of the star. The CO mass derived ( ) is the lowest of any circumstellar disk detected to date and must be of exocometary origin. Using a steady-state model, we estimate the CO+CO2 mass fraction of exocomets around Fomalhaut to be between 4.6% and 76%, consistent with solar system comets and the two other belts known to host exocometary gas. This is the first indication of a similarity in cometary compositions across planetary systems that may be linked to their formation scenario and is consistent with direct interstellar medium inheritance. In addition, we find tentative evidence that % of the detected flux originates from a region near the eccentric belt's pericenter. If confirmed, the latter may be explained through a recent impact event or CO pericenter glow due to exocometary release within a steady-state collisional cascade. In the latter scenario, we show how the azimuthal dependence of the CO release rate leads to asymmetries in gas observations of eccentric exocometary belts.
Millimeter observations of CO gas in planetesimal belts show a high detection rate around A stars, but few detections for later type stars. We present the first CO detection in a planetesimal belt ...around an M star, TWA 7. The optically thin CO (J = 3-2) emission is colocated with previously identified dust emission from the belt, and the emission velocity structure is consistent with Keplerian rotation around the central star. The detected CO is not well shielded against photodissociation, and must thus be continuously replenished by gas release from exocomets within the belt. We analyze in detail the process of exocometary gas release and destruction around young M dwarfs and how this process compares to earlier type stars. Taking these differences into account, we find that CO generation through exocometary gas release naturally explains the increasing CO detection rates with stellar luminosity, mostly because the CO production rate from the collisional cascade is directly proportional to stellar luminosity. More luminous stars will therefore on average host more massive (and hence more easily detectable) exocometary CO disks, leading to the higher detection rates observed. The current CO detection rates are consistent with a ubiquitous release of exocometary gas in planetesimal belts, independent of spectral type.
The protoplanetary disks seen around Herbig Ae stars eventually dissipate leaving just a tenuous debris disk, comprised of planetesimals and the dust derived from them, as well as possibly gas and ...planets. This paper uses the properties of the youngest (10–20 Myr) A star debris disks to consider the transition from protoplanetary to debris disk. It is argued that the physical distinction between these two classes should rest on the presence of primordial gas in sufficient quantities to dominate the motion of small dust grains (rather than on the secondary nature of the dust or its level of stirring). This motivates an observational classification based on the dust emission spectrum which is empirically defined so that A star debris disks require fractional excesses <3 at 12 μm and <2000 at 70 μm. We also propose that a useful hypothesis to test is that the planet and planetesimal systems seen on the main sequence are already in place during the protoplanetary disk phase, but are obscured or overwhelmed by the rest of the disk. This may be only weakly true if the architecture of the planetary system continues to change until frozen at the epoch of disk dispersal, or completely false if planets and planetesimals form during the relatively short dispersal phase. Five steps in the transition are discussed: (i) the well-known carving of an inner hole to form a
transition disk
; (ii) depletion of mm-sized dust in the outer disk, where it is noted that it is of critical importance to ascertain whether this mass ends up in larger planetesimals or is collisionally depleted; (iii) final clearing of inner regions, where it is noted that multiple debris-like mechanisms exist to replenish moderate levels of hot dust at later phases, and that these likely also operate in protoplanetary disks; (iv) disappearance of the gas, noting the recent discoveries of both primordial and secondary gas in debris disks which highlight our ignorance in this area and its impending enlightenment by ALMA; (v) formation of ring-like structure of planetesimals, noting that these are shaped by interactions with planets, and that the location of the planetesimals in protoplanetary disks may be unrelated to that of dust concentrations therein that are set by gas interactions.
This paper presents a self-consistent model for the evolution of gas produced in the debris disc of β Pictoris. Our model proposes that atomic carbon and oxygen are created from the photodissociation ...of CO, which is itself released from volatile-rich bodies in the debris disc due to grain–grain collisions or photodesorption. While the CO lasts less than one orbit, the atomic gas evolves by viscous spreading resulting in an accretion disc inside the parent belt and a decretion disc outside. The temperature, ionization fraction and population levels of carbon and oxygen are followed with the photodissociation region model cloudy, which is coupled to a dynamical viscous α model. We present new gas observations of β Pic, of C i observed with Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment and O i observed with Herschel, and show that these along with published C ii and CO observations can all be explained with this new model. Our model requires a viscosity α > 0.1, similar to that found in sufficiently ionized discs of other astronomical objects; we propose that the magnetorotational instability is at play in this highly ionized and dilute medium. This new model can be tested from its predictions for high-resolution ALMA observations of C i. We also constrain the water content of the planetesimals in β Pic. The scenario proposed here might be at play in all debris discs and this model could be used more generally on all discs with C, O or CO detections.
Resolved observations of millimeter-sized dust, tracing larger planetesimals, have pinpointed the location of 26 Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt analogs. We report that a belt's distance R to its host star ...correlates with the star's luminosity L , following with a low intrinsic scatter of ∼17%. Remarkably, our Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt in the solar system and the two CO snow lines imaged in protoplanetary disks lie close to this R-L relation, suggestive of an intrinsic relationship between protoplanetary disk structures and belt locations. To test the effect of bias on the relation, we use a Monte Carlo approach and simulate uncorrelated model populations of belts. We find that observational bias could produce the slope and intercept of the R-L relation but is unable to reproduce its low scatter. We then repeat the simulation taking into account the collisional evolution of belts, following the steady-state model that fits the belt population as observed through infrared excesses. This significantly improves the fit by lowering the scatter of the simulated R-L relation; however, this scatter remains only marginally consistent with the one observed. The inability of observational bias and collisional evolution alone to reproduce the tight relationship between belt radius and stellar luminosity could indicate that planetesimal belts form at preferential locations within protoplanetary disks. The similar trend for CO snow line locations would then indicate that the formation of planetesimals or planets in the outer regions of planetary systems is linked to the volatility of their building blocks, as postulated by planet formation models.
In recent years, gas has been observed in an increasing number of debris discs, though its nature remains to be determined. Here, we analyse CO molecular excitation in optically thin debris discs, ...and search Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Cycle-0 data for CO J = 3-2 emission in the Fomalhaut ring. No significant line emission is observed; we set a 3... upper limit on the integrated line flux of 0.16 Jy km s... We show a significant dependence of the CO excitation on the density of collisional partners n, on the gas kinetic temperature T... and on the ambient radiation field J, suggesting that assumptions widely used for protoplanetary discs (e.g. local thermodynamic equilibrium, LTE) do not necessarily apply to their low density debris counterparts. When applied to the Fomalhaut ring, we consider a primordial origin scenario where H... dominates collisional excitation of CO, and a secondary origin scenario dominated by e- and H...O. In either scenario, we obtain a strict upper limit on the CO mass of 4.9 x 10... M... This arises in the non-LTE regime, where the excitation of the molecule is determined solely by the well-known radiation field. In the secondary scenario, assuming any CO present to be in steady state allows us to set an upper limit of ~55 per cent on the CO/H...O ice ratio in the parent planetesimals. This could drop to ~3 per cent if LTE applies, covering the range observed in Solar system comets (0.4-30 per cent). Finally, in light of our analysis, we present prospects for CO detection and characterization in debris discs with ALMA. (ProQuest: ... denotes formulae/symbols omitted.)
ABSTRACT
Scattered light high-resolution imaging of the protoplanetary disc orbiting HD100453 shows two symmetric spiral arms, possibly launched by an external stellar companion. In this paper, we ...present new, sensitive high-resolution (∼30 mas) Band 7 ALMA observations of this source. This is the first source where we find counterparts in the sub-mm continuum to both scattered light spirals. The CO J = 3–2 emission line also shows two spiral arms; in this case, they can be traced over a more extended radial range, indicating that the southern spiral arm connects to the companion position. This is clear evidence that the companion is responsible for launching the spirals. The pitch angle of the submillimetre continuum spirals (∼6°) is lower than the one in scattered light (∼16°). We show that hydrodynamical simulations of binary–disc interaction can account for the difference in pitch angle only if one takes into account that the mid-plane is colder than the upper layers of the disc, as expected for the case of externally irradiated discs.
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