Accretion Disks Around Young Objects. III. Grain Growth

We present detailed models of irradiated T Tauri disks including dust grain growth with power-law size distributions. The models assume complete mixing between dust and gas and solve for the vertical disk structure self-consistentlyincluding the heating effects of stellar irradiation as well as local viscous heating. For a given total dust mass, grain growth is found to decrease the vertical height of the surface where the optical depth to the stellar radiation becomes unit and thus the local irradiation heating, while increasing the disk emission at mm and sub-mm wavelengths. The resulting disk models are less geometrically thick than our previous models assuming interstellar medium dust, and agree better with observed spectral energy distributions and images of edge-on disks, like HK Tau/c and HH 30. The implications of models with grain growth for determining disk masses from long-wavelength emission are considered.Comment: 29 pages, including 11 figures and 1 table, APJ accepte

Luminescent lanthanoid complexes of a tetrazole-functionalised calix[4]arene

p-t-Butylcalix[4]arene functionalised at the lower rim with two tetrazole moieties is found to be a useful receptor for lanthanoid cations. The luminescence of the resulting complexes can be controlled by addition of base, with emission achieved in the visible and infrared regions

A Keplerian Disk around the Herbig Ae star HD169142

We present Submillimeter Array observations of the Herbig Ae star HD169142 in 1.3 millimeter continuum emission and 12CO J=2-1 line emission at 1.5 arcsecond resolution that reveal a circumstellar disk. The continuum emission is centered on the star position and resolved, and provides a mass estimate of about 0.02 solar masses for the disk. The CO images show patterns in position and velocity that are well matched by a disk in Keplerian rotation with low inclination to the line-of-sight. We use radiative transfer calculations based on a flared, passive disk model to constrain the disk parameters by comparison to the spectral line emission. The derived disk radius is 235 AU, and the inclination is 13 degrees. The model also necessitates modest depletion of the CO molecules, similar to that found in Keplerian disks around T Tauri stars.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, accepted by A

IRAC Observations of Taurus Pre-Main Sequence Stars

We present infrared photometry obtained with the IRAC camera on the Spitzer Space Telescope of a sample of 82 pre-main sequence stars and brown dwarfs in the Taurus star-forming region. We find a clear separation in some IRAC color-color diagrams between objects with and without disks. A few ``transition'' objects are noted, which correspond to systems in which the inner disk has been evacuated of small dust. Separating pure disk systems from objects with remnant protostellar envelopes is more difficult at IRAC wavelengths, especially for objects with infall at low rates and large angular momenta. Our results generally confirm the IRAC color classification scheme used in previous papers by Allen et al. and Megeath et al. to distinguish between protostars, T Tauri stars with disks, and young stars without (inner) disks. The observed IRAC colors are in good agreement with recent improved disk models, and in general accord with models for protostellar envelopes derived from analyzing a larger wavelength region. We also comment on a few Taurus objects of special interest. Our results should be useful for interpreting IRAC results in other, less well-studied star-forming regions.Comment: 29 pages 10 figures, to appear in Ap

Organic Molecules and Water in the Inner Disks of T Tauri Stars

We report high signal-to-noise Spitzer IRS spectra of a sample of eleven classical T Tauri stars. Molecular emission from rotational transitions of H2O and OH and ro-vibrational bands of simple organic molecules (CO2, HCN, C2H2) is common among the sources in the sample. The gas temperatures (200-800 K) and emitting areas we derive are consistent with the emission originating in a warm disk atmosphere in the inner planet formation region at radii < 2 AU. The H2O emission appears to form under a limited range of excitation conditions, as shown by the similarity in relative strengths of H2O features from star to star and the narrow range in derived temperature and column density. Emission from highly excited rotational levels of OH is present in all stars; the OH emission flux increases with the stellar accretion rate, and the OH/H2O flux ratio shows a relatively small scatter. We interpret these results as evidence for OH production via FUV photo-dissociation of H2O in the disk surface layers. No obvious explanation is found for the observed range in the relative emission strengths of different organic molecules or in their strength with respect to water. We put forward the possibility that these variations reflect a diversity in organic abundances due to star-to-star differences in the C/O ratio of the inner disk gas. Stars with the largest HCN/H2O flux ratios in our sample have the largest disk masses. We speculate that such a trend could result if higher mass disks are more efficient at planetesimal formation and sequestration of water in the outer disk, leading to enhanced C/O ratios and abundances of organic molecules in the inner disk. A comparison of our derived HCN to H2O column density ratio to comets, hot cores, and outer T Tauri star disks suggests that the inner disks are chemically active.Comment: Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

The effect of the regular solution model in the condensation of protoplanetary dust

We utilize a chemical equilibrium code in order to study the condensation process which occurs in protoplanetary discs during the formation of the first solids. The model specifically focuses on the thermodynamic behaviour on the solid species assuming the regular solution model. For each solution, we establish the relationship between the activity of the species, the composition and the temperature using experimental data from the literature. We then apply the Gibbs free energy minimization method and study the resulting condensation sequence for a range of temperatures and pressures within a protoplanetary disc. Our results using the regular solution model show that grains condense over a large temperature range and therefore throughout a large portion of the disc. In the high temperature region (T > 1400 K) Ca-Al compounds dominate and the formation of corundum is sensitive to the pressure. The mid-temperature region is dominated by Fe(s) and silicates such as Mg2SiO4 and MgSiO3 . The chemistry of forsterite and enstatite are strictly related, and our simulations show a sequence of forsterite-enstatite-forsterite with decreasing temperature. In the low temperature regions (T < 600 K) a range of iron compounds and sulfides form. We also run simulations using the ideal solution model and see clear differences in the resulting condensation sequences with changing solution model In particular, we find that the turning point in which forsterite replaces enstatite in the low temperature region is sensitive to the solution model. Our results show that the ideal solution model is often a poor approximation to experimental data at most temperatures important in protoplanetary discs. We find some important differences in the resulting condensation sequences when using the regular solution model, and suggest that this model should provide a more realistic condensation sequence.Comment: MNRAS: Accepted 2011 February 16. Received 2011 February 14; in original form 2010 July 2

Resolving Molecular Line Emission from Protoplanetary Disks: Observational Prospects for Disks Irradiated by Infalling Envelopes

Molecular line observations that could resolve protoplanetary disks of ~100 AU both spatially and kinematically would be a useful tool to unambiguously identify these disks and to determine their kinematical and physical characteristics. In this work we model the expected line emission from a protoplanetary disk irradiated by an infalling envelope, addressing the question of its detectability with subarcsecond resolution. We adopt a previously determined disk model structure that gives a continuum spectral energy distribution and a mm intensity spatial distribution that are consistent with observational constraints of HL Tau. An analysis of the capability of presently working and projected interferometers at mm and submm wavelengths shows that molecular transitions of moderate opacity at these wavelengths (e.g., C17O lines) are good candidates for detecting disk lines at subarcsecond resolution in the near future. We suggest that, in general, disks of typical Class I sources will be detectable.Comment: 41 pages, 16 figures. To be published in The Astrophysical Journa

Optical and Radio monitoring of S5 1803+74

The optical (BVRI) and radio (8.4 GHz) light curves of S5 1803+784 on a time span of nearly 6 years are presented and discussed. The optical light curve showed an overall variation greater than 3 mag, and the largest changes occured in three strong flares. No periodicity was found in the light curve on time scales up to a year. The variability in the radio band is very different, and shows moderate oscillations around an average constant flux density rather than relevant flares, with a maximum amplitude of $\sim$30%, without a simultaneous correspondence between optical and radio luminosity. The optical spectral energy distribution was always well fitted by a power law. The spectral index shows small variations and there is indication of a positive correlation with the source luminosity. Possible explanations of the source behaviour are discussed in the framework of current models.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure

Adiabatic perturbation theory and geometry of periodically-driven systems

We give a systematic review of the adiabatic theorem and the leading non-adiabatic corrections in periodically-driven (Floquet) systems. These corrections have a two-fold origin: (i) conventional ones originating from the gradually changing Floquet Hamiltonian and (ii) corrections originating from changing the micro-motion operator. These corrections conspire to give a Hall-type linear response for non-stroboscopic (time-averaged) observables allowing one to measure the Berry curvature and the Chern number related to the Floquet Hamiltonian, thus extending these concepts to periodically-driven many-body systems. The non-zero Floquet Chern number allows one to realize a Thouless energy pump, where one can adiabatically add energy to the system in discrete units of the driving frequency. We discuss the validity of Floquet Adiabatic Perturbation Theory (FAPT) using five different models covering linear and non-linear few and many-particle systems. We argue that in interacting systems, even in the stable high-frequency regimes, FAPT breaks down at ultra slow ramp rates due to avoided crossings of photon resonances, not captured by the inverse-frequency expansion, leading to a counter-intuitive stronger heating at slower ramp rates. Nevertheless, large windows in the ramp rate are shown to exist for which the physics of interacting driven systems is well captured by FAPT.The authors would like to thank M. Aidelsburger, M. Atala, E. Dalla Torre, N. Goldman, M. Heyl, D. Huse, G. Jotzu, C. Kennedy, M. Lohse, T. Mori, L. Pollet, M. Rudner, A. Russomanno, and C. Schweizer for fruitful discussions. This work was supported by AFOSR FA9550-16-1-0334, NSF DMR-1506340, ARO W911NF1410540, and the Hungarian research grant OTKA Nos. K101244, K105149. M. K. was supported by Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding from Berkeley Lab, provided by the Director, Office of Science, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231. The authors are pleased to acknowledge that the computational work reported in this paper was performed on the Shared Computing Cluster which is administered by Boston University's Research Computing Services. The authors also acknowledge the Research Computing Services group for providing consulting support which has contributed to the results reported within this paper. The study of the driven non-integrable transverse-field Ising model was carried out using QuSpin [185] - an open-source state-of-the-art Python package for dynamics and exact diagonalization of quantum many body systems, available to download here. (FA9550-16-1-0334 - AFOSR; DMR-1506340 - NSF; W911NF1410540 - ARO; K101244 - Hungarian research grant OTKA; K105149 - Hungarian research grant OTKA; DE-AC02-05CH11231 - Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) funding from Berkeley Lab)https://arxiv.org/pdf/1606.02229.pd

Involvement of phosphodiesterase-cGMP-PKG pathway in intracellular Ca2+ oscillations in pituitary GH3 cells

AbstractThe present study investigates the potential role of the Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent type I phosphodiesterase (PDE)-cGMP-protein kinase G (PKG) pathway in spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations in GH3 cells using fura-2 single cell videoimaging. Vinpocetine (2.5–50 μM), a selective inhibitor of type I PDE, induced a concentration-dependent inhibition of spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations in these pituitary cells, and at the same time produced an increase of the intracellular cGMP content. The cell permeable cGMP analog N2,2′-O-dibutyryl-cGMP (dB-cGMP) (1 mM) caused a progressive reduction of the frequency and the amplitude of spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations when added to the medium. KT5823 (400 nM), a selective inhibitor of cGMP-dependent protein kinase (PKG), produced an increase of baseline [Ca2+]i and the disappearance of spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations. When KT5823 was added before vinpocetine, the PKG inhibitor counteracted the [Ca2+]i lowering effect of the cGMP catabolism inhibitor. Finally, the removal of extracellular Ca2+ or the blockade of L-type voltage-sensitive calcium channels (VSCC) by nimodipine produced a decrease of cytosolic cGMP levels. Collectively, the results of the present study suggest that spontaneous [Ca2+]i oscillations in GH3 cells may be regulated by the activity of type I PDE-cGMP-PKG pathway