[en] We present a model that describes stellar infrared excesses due to heating of the interstellar (IS) dust by a hot star passing through a diffuse IS cloud. This model is applied to six λ Bootis stars with infrared excesses. Plausible values for the IS medium (ISM) density and relative velocity between the cloud and the star yield fits to the excess emission. This result is consistent with the diffusion/accretion hypothesis that λ Bootis stars (A- to F-type stars with large underabundances of Fe-peak elements) owe their characteristics to interactions with the ISM. This proposal invokes radiation pressure from the star to repel the IS dust and excavate a paraboloidal dust cavity in the IS cloud, while the metal-poor gas is accreted onto the stellar photosphere. However, the measurements of the infrared excesses can also be fit by planetary debris disk models. A more detailed consideration of the conditions to produce λ Bootis characteristics indicates that the majority of infrared-excess stars within the Local Bubble probably have debris disks. Nevertheless, more distant stars may often have excesses due to heating of IS material such as in our model.

[en] We present calculated rate coefficients for ro-vibrational transitions of CO in collisions with H atoms for a gas temperature range of 10 K ≤ T ≤ 3000 K, based on the recent three-dimensional ab initio H–CO interaction potential of Song et al. Rate coefficients for ro-vibrational $v=1,j=0-<!--\; ???\; -->30\to <!--\; ???\; -->v^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}=0,j^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}$ transitions were obtained from scattering cross sections previously computed with the close-coupling (CC) method by Song et al. Combining these with the rate coefficients for vibrational $v=1-<!--\; ???\; -->5\to <!--\; ???\; -->v^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}<<!--\; <\; -->v$ quenching obtained with the infinite-order sudden approximation, we propose a new extrapolation scheme that yields the rate coefficients for ro-vibrational $v=2-<!--\; ???\; -->5,j=0-<!--\; ???\; -->30\to <!--\; ???\; -->v^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}},j^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}$ de-excitation. Cross sections and rate coefficients for ro-vibrational $v=2,j=0-<!--\; ???\; -->30\to <!--\; ???\; -->v^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}=1,j^{\mathrm{\prime <!--\; ???\; -->}}$ transitions calculated with the CC method confirm the effectiveness of this extrapolation scheme. Our calculated and extrapolated rates are very different from those that have been adopted in the modeling of many astrophysical environments. The current work provides the most comprehensive and accurate set of ro-vibrational de-excitation rate coefficients for the astrophysical modeling of the H–CO collision system. The application of the previously available and new data sets in astrophysical slab models shows that the line fluxes typically change by 20%–70% in high temperature environments (800 K) with an H/H₂ ratio of 1; larger changes occur for lower temperatures.

[en] Proplyds are photodissociation-region-(PDR)-like cometary cocoons around young stars which are thought to originate through photoevaporation of the central protoplanetary disk by external UV radiation from the nearby OB stars. This Letter presents spatially resolved mid-infrared imaging and spectroscopy of the proplyd HST10 obtained with the Very Large Telescope/VISIR instrument. These observations allow us to detect polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the proplyd PDR and to study the general properties of PAHs in proplyds for the first time. We find that PAHs in HST10 are mostly neutral and at least 50 times less abundant than typical values found for the diffuse interstellar medium or the nearby Orion Bar. With such a low PAH abundance, photoelectric heating is significantly reduced. If this low abundance pertains also to the original disk material, gas heating rates could be too low to efficiently drive photoevaporation unless other processes can be identified. Alternatively, the model behind the formation of proplyds as evaporating disks may have to be revised.

[en] LkCa 15 is an extensively studied star in the Taurus region, known for its pre-transitional disk with a large inner cavity in the dust continuum and normal gas accretion rate. The most popular hypothesis to explain the LkCa 15 data invokes one or more planets to carve out the inner cavity, while gas continues to flow across the gap from the outer disk onto the central star. We present spatially unresolved HCO⁺ $J=4\to <!--\; ???\; -->3$ observations of the LkCa 15 disk from the James Clerk Maxwell telescope (JCMT) and model the data with the ProDiMo code. We find that: (1) HCO⁺ line-wings are clearly detected, certifying the presence of gas in the cavity within ≲50 au of the star. (2) Reproducing the observed line-wing flux requires both a significant suppression of cavity dust (by a factor ≳10⁴ compared to the interstellar medium (ISM)) and a substantial increase in the gas scale-height within the cavity (H ₀/R ₀ ∼ 0.6). An ISM dust-to-gas ratio (d:g = 10⁻²) yields too little line-wing flux, regardless of the scale-height or cavity gas geometry, while a smaller scale-height also under-predicts the flux even with a reduced d:g. (3) The cavity gas mass is consistent with the surface density profile of the outer disk extended inwards to the sublimation radius (corresponding to mass M _d ∼ 0.03 M _⊙), and masses lower by a factor ≳10 appear to be ruled out.

[en] We present high-resolution (R ∼ 100,000) L-band spectroscopy of 11 Herbig AeBe stars with circumstellar disks. The observations were obtained with the VLT/CRIRES to detect hot water and hydroxyl radical emission lines previously detected in disks around T Tauri stars. OH emission lines are detected toward four disks. The OH ²Π_3/2 P4.5 (1+,1-) doublet is spectrally resolved as well as the velocity profile of each component of the doublet. Its characteristic double-peak profile demonstrates that the gas is in Keplerian rotation and points to an emitting region extending out to ∼15-30 AU. The OH emission correlates with disk geometry as it is mostly detected toward flaring disks. None of the Herbig stars analyzed here show evidence of hot water vapor at a sensitivity similar to that of the OH lines. The non-detection of hot water vapor emission indicates that the atmospheres of disks around Herbig AeBe stars are depleted of water molecules. Assuming LTE and optically thin emission we derive a lower limit to the OH/H₂O column density ratio >1-25 in contrast to T Tauri disks for which the column density ratio is 0.3-0.4.

[en] Transitional disks are protoplanetary disks characterized by reduced near- and mid-infrared emission, with respect to full disks. This characteristic spectral energy distribution indicates the presence of an optically thin inner cavity within the dust disk believed to mark the disappearance of the primordial massive disk. We present new Herschel Space Observatory PACS spectra of [O I] 63.18 μm for 21 transitional disks. Our survey complements the larger Herschel GASPS program (^Gas in Protoplanetary Systems⁾ by quadrupling the number of transitional disks observed with PACS in this wavelength. [O I] 63.18 μm traces material in the outer regions of the disk, beyond the inner cavity of most transitional disks. We find that transitional disks have [O I] 63.18 μm line luminosities ∼2 times fainter than their full disk counterparts. We self-consistently determine various stellar properties (e.g., bolometric luminosity, FUV excess, etc.) and disk properties (e.g., disk dust mass, etc.) that could influence the [O I] 63.18 μm line luminosity, and we find no correlations that can explain the lower [O I] 63.18 μm line luminosities in transitional disks. Using a grid of thermo-chemical protoplanetary disk models, we conclude that either transitional disks are less flared than full disks or they possess lower gas-to-dust ratios due to a depletion of gas mass. This result suggests that transitional disks are more evolved than their full disk counterparts, possibly even at large radii.

[en] We present spectrally resolved observations of the young multiple system T Tau in atomic and molecular lines obtained with the Heterodyne Instrument for the Far Infrared on board Herschel. While CO, H₂O, [C II], and SO lines trace the envelope and the outflowing gas up to velocities of 33 km s^–1 with respect to systemic, the CN 5-4 hyperfine structure lines at 566.7, 566.9 GHz show a narrow double-peaked profile centered at systemic velocity, consistent with an origin in the outer region of the compact disk of T Tau N. Disk modeling of the T Tau N disk with the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo produces CN line fluxes and profiles consistent with the observed ones and constrain the size of the gaseous disk (R_out=110₋₂₀⁺¹⁰ AU) and its inclination (i = 25°± 5°). The model indicates that the CN lines originate in a disk upper layer at 40-110 AU from the star, which is irradiated by the stellar UV field and heated up to temperatures of 50-700 K. With respect to previously observed CN 2-1 millimeter lines, the CN 5-4 lines appear to be less affected by envelope emission, due to their larger critical density and excitation temperature. Hence, high-J CN lines are a unique confusion-free tracer of embedded disks, such as the disk of T Tau N

[en] Water is key in the evolution of protoplanetary disks and the formation of comets and icy/water planets. While high-excitation water lines originating in the hot inner disk have been detected in several T Tauri stars (TTSs), water vapor from the outer disk, where most water ice reservoirs are stored, was only reported in the nearby TTS TW Hya. We present spectrally resolved Herschel/HIFI observations of the young TTS DG Tau in the ortho- and para-water ground-state transitions at 557 and 1113 GHz. The lines show a narrow double-peaked profile, consistent with an origin in the outer disk, and are ∼19-26 times brighter than in TW Hya. In contrast, CO and [C II] lines are dominated by emission from the envelope/outflow, which makes H₂O lines a unique tracer of the disk of DG Tau. Disk modeling with the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo indicates that the strong UV field, due to the young age and strong accretion of DG Tau, irradiates a disk upper layer at 10-90 AU from the star, heating it up to temperatures of 600 K and producing the observed bright water lines. The models suggest a disk mass of 0.015-0.1 M_☉, consistent with the estimated minimum mass of the solar nebula before planet formation, and a water reservoir of ∼10²-10³ Earth oceans in vapor and ∼100 times larger in the form of ice. Hence, this detection supports the scenario of ocean delivery on terrestrial planets by the impact of icy bodies forming in the outer disk.

[en] We present far-IR/sub-mm imaging and spectroscopy of 49 Ceti, an unusual circumstellar disk around a nearby young A1V star. The system is famous for showing the dust properties of a debris disk, but the gas properties of a low-mass protoplanetary disk. The data were acquired with the Herschel Space Observatory PACS and SPIRE instruments, largely as part of the ''Gas in Protoplanetary Systems'' (GASPS) Open Time Key Programme. Disk dust emission is detected in images at 70, 160, 250, 350, and 500 μm; 49 Cet is significantly extended in the 70 μm image, spatially resolving the outer dust disk for the first time. Spectra covering small wavelength ranges centered on eight atomic and molecular emission lines were obtained, including [O I] 63 μm and [C II] 158 μm. The C II line was detected at the 5σ level—the first detection of atomic emission from the disk. No other emission lines were seen, despite the fact that the O I line is the brightest one observed in Herschel protoplanetary disk spectra. We present an estimate of the amount of circumstellar atomic gas implied by the C II emission. The new far-IR/sub-mm data fills in a large gap in the previous spectral energy distribution (SED) of 49 Cet. A simple model of the new SED confirms the two-component structure of the disk: warm inner dust and cold outer dust that produces most of the observed excess. Finally, we discuss preliminary thermochemical modeling of the 49 Cet gas/dust disk and our attempts to match several observational results simultaneously. Although we are not yet successful in doing so, our investigations shed light on the evolutionary status of the 49 Cet gas, which might not be primordial gas but rather secondary gas coming from comets.