Line Emission from Gas in Optically Thick Dust Disks around Young Stars

We present self-consistent models of gas in optically-thick dusty disks and calculate its thermal, density and chemical structure. The models focus on an accurate treatment of the upper layers where line emission originates, and at radii $\gtrsim 0.7$ AU. We present results of disks around $\sim 1{\rm M}_{\odot}$ stars where we have varied dust properties, X-ray luminosities and UV luminosities. We separately treat gas and dust thermal balance, and calculate line luminosities at infrared and sub-millimeter wavelengths from all transitions originating in the predominantly neutral gas that lies below the ionized surface of the disk. We find that the [ArII] 7$\mu$m, [NeII] 12.8$\mu$m, [FeI] 24$\mu$m, [SI] 25$\mu$m, [FeII] 26$\mu$m, [SiII] 35 $\mu$m, [OI] 63$\mu$m and pure rotational lines of H$_2$, H$_2$O and CO can be quite strong and are good indicators of the presence and distribution of gas in disks. We apply our models to the disk around the nearby young star, TW Hya, and find good agreement between our model calculations and observations. We also predict strong emission lines from the TW Hya disk that are likely to be detected by future facilities. A comparison of CO observations with our models suggests that the gas disk around TW Hya may be truncated to $\sim 120$ AU, compared to its dust disk of 174 AU. We speculate that photoevaporation due to the strong stellar FUV field from TW Hya is responsible for the gas disk truncation.Comment: Accepted to Astrophysical Journa

Low EUV Luminosities Impinging on Protoplanetary Disks

The amount of high-energy stellar radiation reaching the surface of protoplanetary disks is essential to determine their chemistry and physical evolution. Here, we use millimetric and centimetric radio data to constrain the EUV luminosity impinging on 14 disks around young (~2-10Myr) sun-like stars. For each object we identify the long-wavelength emission in excess to the dust thermal emission, attribute that to free-free disk emission, and thereby compute an upper limit to the EUV reaching the disk. We find upper limits lower than 10$^{42}$ photons/s for all sources without jets and lower than $5 \times 10^{40}$ photons/s for the three older sources in our sample. These latter values are low for EUV-driven photoevaporation alone to clear out protoplanetary material in the timescale inferred by observations. In addition, our EUV upper limits are too low to reproduce the [NeII] 12.81 micron luminosities from three disks with slow [NeII]-detected winds. This indicates that the [NeII] line in these sources primarily traces a mostly neutral wind where Ne is ionized by 1 keV X-ray photons, implying higher photoevaporative mass loss rates than those predicted by EUV-driven models alone. In summary, our results suggest that high-energy stellar photons other than EUV may dominate the dispersal of protoplanetary disks around sun-like stars.Comment: Accepted for publication to The Astrophysical Journa

Detection of shocked atomic gas in the Kleinmann-Low nebula

The 63 micrometer (3)p(1)-(3)P(2) fine structure line emission of neutral atomic oxygen at the center of the Orion nebula with a resolution of 30" is presented. There are three main emission peaks. One is associated with the region of strongest thermal radio continuum radiation close to the Trapezium cluster, and probably arises at the interface between the HII region and the dense Orion molecular cloud. The other two line emission peaks, associated with the Kleinmann Low nebula, are similar in both distribution and velocity to those of the 2 micrometer S(1) line of molecular hydrogen and of the high velocity wings of rotational CO emission. The OI emission from the KL nebula can be produced in the shocked gas associated with the mass outflows in this region and is an important coolant of the shocked gas

Spatially Resolved Spitzer-IRS Spectral Maps of the Superwind in M82

We have mapped the superwind/halo region of the nearby starburst galaxy M82 in the mid-infrared with $Spitzer-IRS$. The spectral regions covered include the H$_2 S(1)-S(3)$, [NeII], [NeIII] emission lines and PAH features. We estimate the total warm H$_2$ mass and the kinetic energy of the outflowing warm molecular gas to be between $M_{warm}\sim5-17\times10^6$ M$_{\odot}$ and $E_{K}\sim6-20\times10^{53}$ erg. Using the ratios of the 6.2, 7.7 and 11.3 micron PAH features in the IRS spectra, we are able to estimate the average size and ionization state of the small grains in the superwind. There are large variations in the PAH flux ratios throughout the outflow. The 11.3/7.7 and the 6.2/7.7 PAH ratios both vary by more than a factor of five across the wind region. The Northern part of the wind has a significant population of PAH's with smaller 6.2/7.7 ratios than either the starburst disk or the Southern wind, indicating that on average, PAH emitters are larger and more ionized. The warm molecular gas to PAH flux ratios (H$_2/PAH$) are enhanced in the outflow by factors of 10-100 as compared to the starburst disk. This enhancement in the H$_2/PAH$ ratio does not seem to follow the ionization of the atomic gas (as measured with the [NeIII]/[NeII] line flux ratio) in the outflow. This suggests that much of the warm H$_2$ in the outflow is excited by shocks. The observed H$_2$ line intensities can be reproduced with low velocity shocks ($v < 40$ km s$^{-1}$) driven into moderately dense molecular gas ($10^2 <n_H < 10^4$ cm$^{-3}$) entrained in the outflow.Comment: 19 pages and 12 figures; accepted in MNRA

The Mid-Infrared Spectrum of Star-Forming Galaxies: Global Properties of PAH Emission

We present a sample of low-resolution 5-38um Spitzer IRS spectra of the inner few square kiloparsecs of 59 nearby galaxies spanning a large range of star formation properties. A robust method for decomposing mid-infrared galaxy spectra is described, and used to explore the behavior of PAH emission and the prevalence of silicate dust extinction. Evidence for silicate extinction is found in ~1/8 of the sample, at strengths which indicate most normal galaxies undergo A_V < ~3 magnitudes averaged over their centers. The contribution of PAH emission to the total infrared power is found to peak near 10% and extend up to ~20%, and is suppressed at metallicities Z < ~Z_sun/4, as well as in low-luminosity AGN environments. Strong inter-band PAH feature strength variations (2-5x) are observed, with the presence of a weak AGN and, to a lesser degree, increasing metallicity shifting power to the longer wavelength bands. A peculiar PAH emission spectrum with markedly diminished 5-8um features arises among the sample solely in systems with relatively hard radiation fields harboring low-luminosity AGN. The AGN may modify the emitting grain distribution and provide the direct excitation source of the unusual PAH emission, which cautions against using absolute PAH strength to estimate star formation rates in systems harboring active nuclei. Alternatively, the low star formation intensity often associated with weak AGN may affect the spectrum. The effect of variations in the mid-infrared spectrum on broadband infrared surveys is modeled, and points to more than a factor of two uncertainty in results which assume a fixed PAH emission spectrum, for redshifts z=0-2.5.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 24 pages (abstract typo fixed, reference added

The opaque nascent starburst in NGC 1377: Spitzer SINGS observations

We analyze extensive data on NGC 1377 from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS). Within the category of nascent starbursts that we previously selected as having infrared-to-radio continuum ratios in large excess of the average and containing hot dust, NGC 1377 has the largest infrared excess yet measured. Optical imaging reveals a morphological distortion suggestive of a recent accretion event. Infrared spectroscopy reveals a compact and opaque source dominated by a hot, self-absorbed continuum (τ~ 20 in the 10μm silicate band). We provide physical evidence against nonstellar activity being the heating source. H II regions are detected through the single [Ne II] line, probing 85% of ionizing photons are suppressed by dust. The only other detected emission features are molecular hydrogen lines, arguably excited mainly by shocks, besides photodissociation regions, and weak aromatic bands. The new observations support our interpretation in terms of an extremely young starburst (<1 Myr). More generally, galaxies deficient in radio synchrotron emission are likely observed within a few Myr of the onset of a starburst and after a long quiescence, prior to the replenishment of the interstellar medium with cosmic rays. The similar infrared-radio properties of NGC 1377 and some infrared-luminous galaxies suggest that NGC 1377 constitutes an archetype that will be useful to better understand starburst evolution. Although rare locally because observed in a brief evolutionary stage, nascent starbursts may represent a nonnegligible fraction of merger-induced starbursts that dominate deep infrared counts. Since they differ dramatically from usual starburst templates, they have important consequences for the interpretation of deep surveys

The Calibration of Mid-Infrared Star Formation Rate Indicators

With the goal of investigating the degree to which the mid-infrared emission traces the star formation rate (SFR), we analyze Spitzer 8 um and 24 um data of star-forming regions in a sample of 33 nearby galaxies with available HST/NICMOS images in the Paschen-alpha (1.8756 um) emission line. The galaxies are drawn from the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) sample, and cover a range of morphologies and a factor ~10 in oxygen abundance. Published data on local low-metallicity starburst galaxies and Luminous Infrared Galaxies are also included in the analysis. Both the stellar-continuum-subtracted 8 um emission and the 24 um emission correlate with the extinction-corrected Pa-alpha line emission, although neither relationship is linear. Simple models of stellar populations and dust extinction and emission are able to reproduce the observed non-linear trend of the 24 um emission versus number of ionizing photons, including the modest deficiency of 24 um emission in the low metallicity regions, which results from a combination of decreasing dust opacity and dust temperature at low luminosities. Conversely, the trend of the 8 um emission as a function of the number of ionizing photons is not well reproduced by the same models. The 8 um emission is contributed, in larger measure than the 24 um emission, by dust heated by non-ionizing stellar populations, in agreement with previous findings. Two SFR calibrations, one using the 24 um emission and the other using a combination of the 24 um and H-alpha luminosities (Kennicutt et al. 2007), are presented. No calibration is presented for the 8 um emission, because of its significant dependence on both metallicity and environment. The calibrations presented here should be directly applicable to systems dominated by on-going star formation.Comment: 67 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication on the Astrophysical Journal; replacement contains: correction to equation 8; important tweaks to equation 9; various typos correcte

The Spectral Energy Distribution of Dust Emission in the Edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 4631 as seen with Spitzer and the James Clerk Maxwell telescope

We explore variations in dust emission within the edge-on Sd spiral galaxy NGC 4631 using 3.6-160 μm Spitzer Space Telescope data and 450-850 μm JCMT data with the goals of understanding the relation between PAHs and dust emission, studying the variations in the colors of the dust emission, and searching for possible excess submillimeter emission compared to what is expected from dust models extrapolated from far-infrared wavelengths. The 8 μm PAH emission correlates best with 24 μm hot dust emission on 1.7 kpc scales, but the relation breaks down on 650 pc scales, possibly because of differences in the mean free paths between photons that excite the PAHs and photons that heat the dust and possibly because the PAHs are destroyed by the hard radiation fields within some star formation regions. The ratio of 8 μm PAH emission to 160 μm cool dust emission appears to vary as a function of radius. The 70 μm/160 μm and 160 μm/450 μm flux density ratios are remarkably constant even though the surface brightnesses vary by factors of 25, which suggests that the emission is from dust heated by a nearly uniform radiation field. Globally, we find an excess of 850-1230 μm emission relative to what would be predicted by dust models. The 850 μm excess is highest in regions with low 160 μm surface brightnesses, although the magnitude depends on the model fit to the data. We rule out variable emissivity functions or ~4 K dust as the possible origins of this 850 μm emission, but we do discuss the other possible mechanisms that could produce the emission

The Minimum Stellar Mass in Early Galaxies

The conditions for the fragmentation of the baryonic component during merging of dark matter halos in the early Universe are studied. We assume that the baryonic component undergoes a shock compression. The characteristic masses of protostellar molecular clouds and the minimum masses of protostars formed in these clouds decrease with increasing halo mass. This may indicate that the initial stellar mass function in more massive galaxies was shifted towards lower masses during the initial stages of their formation. This would result in an increase of the number of stars per unit halo mass, i.e., the efficiency of star formation.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

Influence of UV radiation from a massive YSO on the chemistry of its envelope

We have studied the influence of far ultraviolet (UV) radiation from a massive young stellar object (YSO) on the chemistry of its own envelope by extending the models of Doty et al. (2002) to include a central source of UV radiation. The models are applied to the massive star-forming region AFGL 2591 for different inner UV field strengths. Depth-dependent abundance profiles for several molecules are presented and discussed. We predict enhanced column densities for more than 30 species, especially radicals and ions. Comparison between observations and models is improved with a moderate UV field incident on the inner envelope, corresponding to an enhancement factor G0~10-100 at 200 AU from the star with an optical depth tau~15-17. Subtle differences are found compared with traditional models of Photon Dominated Regions (PDRs) because of the higher temperatures and higher gas-phase H2O abundance caused by evaporation of ices in the inner region. In particular, the CN/HCN ratio is not a sensitive tracer of the inner UV field, in contrast with the situation for normal PDRs: for low UV fields, the extra CN reacts with H2 in the inner dense and warm region and produces more HCN. It is found that the CH+ abundance is strongly enhanced and grows steadily with increasing UV field. High-J lines of molecules like CN and HCN are most sensitive to the inner dense region where UV radiation plays a role. Thus, even though the total column density affected by UV photons is small, comparison of high-J and low-J lines can selectively trace and distinguish the inner UV field from the outer one. In addition, future Herschel-HIFI observations of hydrides can sensitively probe the inner UV field.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. 13 pages, 10 figure