Context. HD 181327 is a young main sequence F5/F6 V star belonging to the β Pictoris moving group (age ~12 Myr). It harbors an optically thin belt of circumstellar material at radius ~90 AU, ...presumed to result from collisions in a population of unseen planetesimals. Aims. We aim to study the dust properties in the belt in details, and to constrain the gas-to-dust ratio. Methods. We obtained far-infrared photometric observations of HD 181327 with the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory⋆, complemented by new 3.2 mm observations carried with the ATCA⋆⋆ array. The geometry of the belt is constrained with newly reduced HST/NICMOS scattered light images that allow the degeneracy between the disk geometry and the dust properties to be broken. We then use the radiative transfer code GRaTeR to compute a large grid of models, and we identify the grain models that best reproduce the spectral energy distribution (SED) through a Bayesian analysis. We attempt to detect the oxygen and ionized carbon fine-structure lines with Herschel/PACS spectroscopy, providing observables to our photochemical code ProDiMo. Results. The HST observations confirm that the dust is confined in a narrow belt. The continuum is detected with Herschel/PACS completing nicely the SED in the far-infrared. The disk is marginally resolved with both PACS and ATCA. A medium integration of the gas spectral lines only provides upper limits on the OI and CII line fluxes. We show that the HD 181327 dust disk consists of micron-sized grains of porous amorphous silicates and carbonaceous material surrounded by an important layer of ice, for a total dust mass of ~0.05 M⊕ (in grains up to 1 mm). We discuss evidences that the grains consists of fluffy aggregates. The upper limits on the gas atomic lines do not provide unambiguous constraints: only if the PAH abundance is high, the gas mass must be lower than ~17 M⊕. Conclusions. Despite the weak constraints on the gas disk, the age of HD 181327 and the properties of the dust disk suggest that it has passed the stage of gaseous planets formation. The dust reveals a population of icy planetesimals, similar to the primitive Edgeworth-Kuiper belt, that may be a source for the future delivery of water and volatiles onto forming terrestrial planets.
Exocomets: A spectroscopic survey Rebollido, I.; Eiroa, C.; Montesinos, B. ...
Astronomy & astrophysics,
07/2020, Volume:
639
Journal Article, Web Resource
Peer reviewed
Open access
Context.
While exoplanets are now routinely detected, the detection of small bodies in extrasolar systems remains challenging. Since the discovery of sporadic events, which are interpreted to be ...exocomets (falling evaporating bodies) around
β
Pic in the early 1980s, only ∼20 stars have been reported to host exocomet-like events.
Aims.
We aim to expand the sample of known exocomet-host stars, as well as to monitor the hot-gas environment around stars with previously known exocometary activity.
Methods.
We have obtained high-resolution optical spectra of a heterogeneous sample of 117 main-sequence stars in the spectral type range from B8 to G8. The data were collected in 14 observing campaigns over the course of two years from both hemispheres. We analysed the Ca
II
K&H and Na
I
D lines in order to search for non-photospheric absorptions that originated in the circumstellar environment and for variable events that could be caused by the outgassing of exocomet-like bodies.
Results.
We detected non-photospheric absorptions towards 50% of the sample, thus attributing a circumstellar origin to half of the detections (i.e. 26% of the sample). Hot circumstellar gas was detected in the metallic lines inspected via narrow stable absorptions and/or variable blue- and red-shifted absorption events. Such variable events were found in 18 stars in the Ca
II
and/or Na
I
lines; six of them are reported in the context of this work for the first time. In some cases, the variations we report in the Ca
II
K line are similar to those observed in
β
Pic. While we do not find a significant trend in the age or location of the stars, we do find that the probability of finding CS gas in stars with larger
v
sin
i
is higher. We also find a weak trend with the presence of near-infrared excess and with anomalous (
λ
Boo-like) abundances, but this would require confirmation by expanding the sample.
Context.
Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBes) have so far been studied based on relatively small samples that are scattered throughout the sky. Their fundamental stellar and circumstellar parameters and ...statistical properties were derived with heterogeneous approaches before
Gaia
.
Aims.
Our main goal is to contribute to the study of HAeBes from the largest sample of such sources to date, for which stellar and circumstellar properties have been determined homogeneously from the analysis of the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and
Gaia
EDR3 parallaxes and photometry.
Methods.
Multiwavelength photometry was compiled for 209 bona fide HAeBes for which
Gaia
EDR3 distances were estimated. Using the Virtual Observatory SED Analyser (VOSA), photospheric models were fit to the optical SEDs to derive stellar parameters, and the excesses at infrared (IR) and longer wavelengths were characterized to derive several circumstellar properties. A statistical analysis was carried out to show the potential use of such a large dataset.
Results.
The stellar temperature, luminosity, radius, mass, and age were derived for each star based on optical photometry. In addition, their IR SEDs were classified according to two different schemes, and their mass accretion rates, disk masses, and the sizes of the inner dust holes were also estimated uniformly. The initial mass function fits the stellar mass distribution of the sample within 2 <
M
*
∕
M
⊙
< 12. In this aspect, the sample is therefore representative of the HAeBe regime and can be used for statistical purposes when it is taken into account that the boundaries are not well probed. Our statistical study does not reveal any connection between the SED shape from the Meeus et al. (2001, A&A, 365, 476) classification and the presence of transitional disks, which are identified here based on the SEDs that show an IR excess starting at the K band or longer wavelengths. In contrast, only ~28% of the HAeBes have transitional disks, and the related dust disk holes are more frequent in HBes than in HAes (~34% vs. 15%). The relatively small inner disk holes and old stellar ages estimated for most transitional HAes indicate that photoevaporation cannot be the main mechanism driving disk dissipation in these sources. In contrast, the inner disk holes and ages of most transitional HBes are consistent with the photoevaporation scenario, although these results alone do not unambiguously discard other disk dissipation mechanisms.
Conclusions.
The complete dataset is available online through a Virtual Observatory-compliant archive, representing the most recent reference for statistical studies on the HAeBe regime. VOSA is a complementary tool for the future characterization of newly identified HAeBes.
Context. High-resolution imaging reveals a large morphological variety of protoplanetary disks. To date, no constraints on their global evolution have been found from this census. An evolutionary ...classification of disks was proposed based on their IR spectral energy distribution, with the Group I sources showing a prominent cold component ascribed to an earlier stage of evolution than Group II. Aims. Disk evolution can be constrained from the comparison of disks with different properties. A first attempt at disk taxonomy is now possible thanks to the increasing number of high-resolution images of Herbig Ae/Be stars becoming available. Methods. Near-IR images of six Group II disks in scattered light were obtained with VLT/NACO in polarimetric differential imaging, which is the most efficient technique for imaging the light scattered by the disk material close to the stars. We compare the stellar/disk properties of this sample with those of well-studied Group I sources available from the literature. Results. Three Group II disks are detected. The brightness distribution in the disk of HD 163296 indicates the presence of a persistent ring-like structure with a possible connection with the CO snowline. A rather compact (<100 AU) disk is detected around HD 142666 and AK Sco. A taxonomic analysis of 17 Herbig Ae/Be sources reveals that the difference between Group I and Group II is due to the presence or absence of a large disk cavity (≳5 AU). There is no evidence supporting the evolution from Group I to Group II. Conclusions. Group II disks are not evolved versions of the Group I disks. Within the Group II disks, very different geometries exist (both self-shadowed and compact). HD 163296 could be the primordial version of a typical Group I disk. Other Group II disks, like AK Sco and HD 142666, could be smaller counterparts of Group I unable to open cavities as large as those of Group I.
The evolution of young massive protoplanetary disks toward planetary systems is expected to correspond to structural changes in observational appearance, which includes the formation of gaps and the ...depletion of dust and gas. A special group of disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars do not show prominent silicate emission features, although they still bear signs of flaring disks, the presence of gas, and small grains. We focus our attention on four key Herbig Ae/Be stars to understand the structural properties responsible for the absence of silicate feature emission. The absence of silicate emission features is due to the presence of large gaps in the critical temperature regime. Many, if not all Herbig disks with spectral energy distribution classification "group I", are disks with large gaps and can be characterized as (pre-)transitional. An evolutionary path from the observed group I to the observed group II sources seems no longer likely. Instead, both might derive from a common ancestor.
Context. This paper discusses the sensitivity of water lines to chemical processes and radiative transfer for the protoplanetary disk around TW Hya. The study focuses on the Herschel spectral range ...in the context of new line detections with the PACS instrument from the Gas in Protoplanetary Systems project (GASPS). Aims. The paper presents an overview of the chemistry in the main water reservoirs in the disk around TW Hya. It discusses the limitations in the interpretation of observed water line fluxes. Methods. We use a previously published thermo-chemical Protoplanetary Disk Model (ProDiMo) of the disk around TW Hya and study a range of chemical modeling uncertainties: metallicity, C/O ratio, and reaction pathways and rates leading to the formation of water. We provide results for the simplified assumption of Tgas = Tdust to quantify uncertainties arising for the complex heating/cooling processes of the gas and elaborate on limitations due to water line radiative transfer. Results. We report new line detections of p-H2O (322−211) at 89.99 μm and CO J = 18−17 at 144.78 μm for the disk around TW Hya. Disk modeling shows that the far-IR fine structure lines (O i, C ii) and molecular submm lines are very robust to uncertainties in the chemistry, while the water line fluxes can change by factors of a few. The water lines are optically thick, sub-thermally excited and can couple to the background continuum radiation field. The low-excitation water lines are also sensitive to uncertainties in the collision rates, e.g. with neutral hydrogen. The gas temperature plays an important role for the O i fine structure line fluxes, the water line fluxes originating from the inner disk as well as the high excitation CO, CH+ and OH lines. Conclusions. Due to their sensitivity on chemical input data and radiative transfer, water lines have to be used cautiously for understanding details of the disk structure. Water lines covering a wide range of excitation energies provide access to the various gas phase water reservoirs (inside and outside the snow line) in protoplanetary disks and thus provide important information on where gas-phase water is potentially located. Experimental and/or theoretical collision rates for H2O with atomic hydrogen are needed to diminish uncertainties from water line radiative transfer.
Herbig Ae/Be objects are pre-main sequence stars surrounded by gas- and dust-rich circumstellar discs. These objects are in the throes of star and planet formation, and their characterisation informs ...us of the processes and outcomes of planet formation processes around intermediate mass stars. Here we analyse the spectral energy distributions of disc host stars observed by the Herschel open time key programme “Gas in Protoplanetary Systems”. We present Herschel/PACS far-infrared imaging observations of 22 Herbig Ae/Bes and 5 debris discs, combined with ancillary photometry spanning ultraviolet to sub-millimetre wavelengths. From these measurements we determine the diagnostics of disc evolution, along with the total excess, in three regimes spanning near-, mid-, and far-infrared wavelengths. Using appropriate statistical tests, these diagnostics are examined for correlations. We find that the far-infrared flux, where the disc becomes optically thin, is correlated with the millimetre flux, which provides a measure of the total dust mass. The ratio of far-infrared to sub-millimetre flux is found to be greater for targets with discs that are brighter at millimetre wavelengths and that have steeper sub-millimetre slopes. Furthermore, discs with flared geometry have, on average, larger excesses than flat geometry discs. Finally, we estimate the extents of these discs (or provide upper limits) from the observations.
We observed a sample of 20 representative Herbig Ae/Be stars and 5 A-type debris discs with PACS onboard Herschel, as part of the GAS in Protoplanetary Systems (GASPS) project. The observations were ...done in spectroscopic mode, and cover the far-infrared lines of O i, C ii, CO, CH+, H2O, and OH. We have a O i 63 μm detection rate of 100% for the Herbig Ae/Be and 0% for the debris discs. The O i 145 μm line is only detected in 25% and CO J = 18-17 in 45% (and fewer cases for higher J transitions) of the Herbig Ae/Be stars, while for C ii 157 μm, we often find spatially variable background contamination. We show the first detection of water in a Herbig Ae disc, HD 163296, which has a settled disc. Hydroxyl is detected as well in this disc. First seen in HD 100546, CH+ emission is now detected for the second time in a Herbig Ae star, HD 97048. We report fluxes for each line and use the observations as line diagnostics of the gas properties. Furthermore, we look for correlations between the strength of the emission lines and either the stellar or disc parameters, such as stellar luminosity, ultraviolet and X-ray flux, accretion rate, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) band strength, and flaring. We find that the stellar ultraviolet flux is the dominant excitation mechanism of O i 63 μm, with the highest line fluxes being found in objects with a large amount of flaring and among the largest PAH strengths. Neither the amount of accretion nor the X-ray luminosity has an influence on the line strength. We find correlations between the line flux of O i 63 μm and O i 145 μm, CO J = 18-17 and O i 6300 Å, and between the continuum flux at 63 μm and at 1.3 mm, while we find weak correlations between the line flux of O i 63 μm and the PAH luminosity, the line flux of CO J = 3-2, the continuum flux at 63 μm, the stellar effective temperature, and the Brγ luminosity. Finally, we use a combination of theO i 63 μm and 12CO J = 2-1 line fluxes to obtain order of magnitude estimates of the disc gas masses, in agreement with the values that we find from detailed modelling of two Herbig Ae/Be stars, HD 163296 and HD 169142. Herschel is an ESA space observatory with science instruments provided by European-led Principal Investigator consortia and with important participation from NASA.
This work presents X-Shooter/Very Large Telescope spectra of the prototypical, isolated Herbig Ae stars HD 31648 (MWC 480) and HD 163296 over five epochs separated by timescales ranging from days to ...months. Each spectrum spans over a wide wavelength range covering from 310 to 2475 nm. We have monitored the continuum excess in the Balmer region of the spectra and the luminosity of 12 ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared spectral lines that are commonly used as accretion tracers for T Tauri stars. The observed strengths of the Balmer excesses have been reproduced from a magnetospheric accretion shock model, providing a mean mass accretion rate of 1.11 x 10 super(-7) and 4.50 x 10 super(-7) M sub(middot in circle) yr super(-1) for HD 31648 and HD 163296, respectively. Accretion rate variations are observed, being more pronounced for HD 31648 (up to 0.5 dex). However, from the comparison with previous results it is found that the accretion rate of HD 163296 has increased by more than 1 dex, on a timescale of ~15 yr. Averaged accretion luminosities derived from the Balmer excess are consistent with the ones inferred from the empirical calibrations with the emission line luminosities, indicating that those can be extrapolated to HAe stars. In spite of that, the accretion rate variations do not generally coincide with those estimated from the line luminosities, suggesting that the empirical calibrations are not useful to accurately quantify accretion rate variability.
Context. Debris discs have often been described as gas-poor discs as the gas-to-dust ratio is expected to be considerably lower than in primordial, protoplanetary discs. However, recent observations ...have confirmed the presence of a non-negligible amount of cold gas in the circumstellar (CS) debris discs around young main-sequence stars. This cold gas has been suggested to be related to the outgassing of planetesimals and cometary-like objects. Aims. The goal of this paper is to investigate the presence of hot gas in the immediate surroundings of the cold-gas-bearing debris-disc central stars. Methods. High-resolution optical spectra of all currently known cold-gas-bearing debris-disc systems, with the exception of β Pic and Fomalhaut, have been obtained from La Palma (Spain), La Silla (Chile), and La Luz (Mexico) observatories. To verify the presence of hot gas around the sample of stars, we have analysed the Ca II H&K and the Na I D lines searching for non-photospheric absorptions of CS origin, usually attributed to cometary-like activity. Results. Narrow, stable Ca II and/or Na I absorption features have been detected superimposed to the photospheric lines in 10 out of the 15 observed cold-gas-bearing debris-disc stars. Features are found at the radial velocity of the stars, or slightly blue- or red-shifted, and/or at the velocity of the local interstellar medium (ISM). Some stars also present transient variable events or absorptions extended towards red wavelengths (red wings). These are the first detections of such Ca II features in 7 out of the 15 observed stars. Although an ISM origin cannot categorically be excluded, the results suggest that the stable and variable absorptions arise from relatively hot gas located in the CS close-in environment of the stars. This hot gas is detected in at least ~80%, of edge-on cold-gas-bearing debris discs, while in only ~10% of the discs seen close to face-on. We interpret this result as a geometrical effect, and suggest that the non-detection of hot gas absorptions in some face-on systems is due to the disc inclination and likely not to the absence of the hot-gas component. This gas is likely released in physical processes related in some way to the evaporation of exocomets, evaporation of dust grains, or grain-grain collisions close to the central star.
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