329 research outputs found
Benchmark problems for continuum radiative transfer. High optical depths, anisotropic scattering, and polarisation
Solving the continuum radiative transfer equation in high opacity media
requires sophisticated numerical tools. In order to test the reliability of
such tools, we present a benchmark of radiative transfer codes in a 2D disc
configuration. We test the accuracy of seven independently developed radiative
transfer codes by comparing the temperature structures, spectral energy
distributions, scattered light images, and linear polarisation maps that each
model predicts for a variety of disc opacities and viewing angles. The test
cases have been chosen to be numerically challenging, with midplane optical
depths up 10^6, a sharp density transition at the inner edge and complex
scattering matrices. We also review recent progress in the implementation of
the Monte Carlo method that allow an efficient solution to these kinds of
problems and discuss the advantages and limitations of Monte Carlo codes
compared to those of discrete ordinate codes. For each of the test cases, the
predicted results from the radiative transfer codes are within good agreement.
The results indicate that these codes can be confidently used to interpret
present and future observations of protoplanetary discs.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
A Herschel PACS survey of the dust and gas in Upper Scorpius disks
We present results of far-infrared photometric observations with Herschel
PACS of a sample of Upper Scorpius stars, with a detection rate of previously
known disk-bearing K and M stars at 70, 100, and 160 micron of 71%, 56%, and
50%, respectively. We fit power-law disk models to the spectral energy
distributions of K & M stars with infrared excesses, and have found that while
many disks extend in to the sublimation radius, the dust has settled to lower
scale heights than in disks of the less evolved Taurus-Auriga population, and
have much reduced dust masses. We also conducted Herschel PACS observations for
far-infrared line emission and JCMT observations for millimeter CO lines. Among
B and A stars, 0 of 5 debris disk hosts exhibit gas line emission, and among K
and M stars, only 2 of 14 dusty disk hosts are detected. The OI 63 micron and
CII 157 micron lines are detected toward [PZ99] J160421.7-213028 and [PBB2002]
J161420.3-190648, which were found in millimeter photometry to host two of the
most massive dust disks remaining in the region. Comparison of the OI line
emission and 63 micron continuum to that of Taurus sources suggests the
emission in the former source is dominated by the disk, while in the other
there is a significant contribution from a jet. The low dust masses found by
disk modeling and low number of gas line detections suggest that few stars in
Upper Scorpius retain sufficient quantities of material for giant planet
formation. By the age of Upper Scorpius, giant planet formation is essentially
complete.Comment: 48 pages, 14 figures, accepted A&
A library of near-infrared integral field spectra of young M-L dwarfs
We present a library of near-infrared (1.1-2.45 microns) medium-resolution
(R~1500-2000) integral field spectra of 15 young M6-L0 dwarfs, composed of
companions with known ages and of isolated objects. We use it to (re)derive the
NIR spectral types, luminosities and physical parameters of the targets, and to
test (BT-SETTL, DRIFT-PHOENIX) atmospheric models. We derive infrared spectral
types L0+-1, L0+-1, M9.5+-0.5, M9.5+-0.5, M9.25+-0.25, M8+0.5-0.75, and
M8.5+-0.5 for AB Pic b, Cha J110913-773444, USco CTIO 108B, GSC 08047-00232 B,
DH Tau B, CT Cha b, and HR7329B, respectively. BT-SETTL and DRIFT-PHOENIX
models yield close Teff and log g estimates for each sources. The models seem
to evidence a 600-300+600 K drop of the effective temperature at the M-L
transition. Assuming the former temperatures are correct, we derive new mass
estimates which confirm that DH Tau B, USco CTIO 108B, AB Pic b, KPNO Tau 4,
OTS 44, and Cha1109 lay inside or at the boundary of the planetary mass range.
We combine the empirical luminosities of the M9.5-L0 sources to the Teff to
derive semi-empirical radii estimates that do not match "hot-start"
evolutionary models predictions at 1-3 Myr. We use complementary data to
demonstrate that atmospheric models are able to reproduce the combined optical
and infrared spectral energy distribution, together with the near-infrared
spectra of these sources simultaneously. But the models still fail to represent
the dominant features in the optical. This issue casts doubts on the ability of
these models to predict correct effective temperatures from near-infrared
spectra alone. We advocate the use of photometric and spectroscopic data
covering a broad range of wavelengths to study the properties of very low mass
young companions to be detected with the planet imagers (Subaru/SCExAO,
LBT/LMIRCam, Gemini/GPI, VLT/SPHERE).Comment: 27 pages, 14 tables, 19 figures, accepted for publication in
Astronomy & Astrophysic
High resolution observations of the outer disk around T Cha: the view from ALMA
T Cha is a young star surrounded by a transitional disk with signatures of
planet formation. We have obtained high-resolution and high-sensitivity ALMA
observations of T Cha in the --, --, and
-- emission lines to reveal the spatial distribution of the
gaseous disk around the star. In order to study the dust within the disk we
have also obtained continuum images at 850m from the line-free channels.
We have spatially resolved the outer disk around T Cha. Using the CO(3-2)
emission we derive a radius of 230 AU. We also report the detection of
the CO(3-2) and the CS(7-8) molecular emissions, which show smaller
radii than the CO(3-2) detection. The continuum observations at 850m allow
the spatial resolution of the dusty disk, which shows two emission bumps
separated by 40AU, consistent with the presence of a dust gap in the
inner regions of the disk, and an outer radius of 80AU. Therefore, T Cha
is surrounded by a compact dusty disk and a larger and more diffuse gaseous
disk, as previously observed in other young stars. The continuum intensity
profiles are different at both sides of the disk suggesting possible dust
asymmetries. We derive an inclination of i(deg)=675, and a position angle
of PA (deg)= 1136, for both the gas and dust disks. The comparison of the
ALMA data with radiative transfer models shows that the gas and dust components
can only be simultaneously reproduced when we include a tapered edge
prescription for the surface density profile. The best model suggests that most
of the disk mass is placed within a radius of 50AU. Finally, we derive a
dynamical mass for the central object of =1.50.2M,
comparable to the one estimated with evolutionary models for an age of
10Myr.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in A&A Letter
The large-scale disk fraction of brown dwarfs in the Taurus cloud as measured with Spitzer
Aims. The brown dwarf (BD) formation process has not yet been completely
understood. To shed more light on the differences and similarities between star
and BD formation processes, we study and compare the disk fraction among both
kinds of objects over a large angular region in the Taurus cloud. In addition,
we examine the spatial distribution of stars and BD relative to the underlying
molecular gas Methods. In this paper, we present new and updated photometry
data from the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC) aboard the Spitzer Space Telescope
on 43 BDs in the Taurus cloud, and recalculate of the BD disk fraction in this
region. We also useed recently available CO mm data to study the spatial
distribution of stars and BDs relative to the cloud's molecular gas. Results.
We find that the disk fraction among BDs in the Taurus cloud is 41 \pm 12%, a
value statistically consistent with the one among TTS (58 \pm 9%). We find that
BDs in transition from a state where they have a disk to a diskless state are
rare, and we study one isolated example of a transitional disk with an inner
radius of \approx 0.1 AU (CFHT BD Tau 12, found via its relatively small mid-IR
excess compared to most members of Taurus that have disks. We find that BDs are
statistically found in regions of similar molecular gas surface density to
those associated with stars. Furthermore, we find that the gas column density
distribution is almost identical for stellar and substellar objects with and
without disks.Comment: 8 page, 6 figures, Accepted in Astronomy & Astrophysics
Submillimetre dust polarisation and opacity in the HD163296 protoplanetary ring system
We present ALMA images of the sub-mm continuum polarisation and spectral
index of the protoplanetary ringed disk HD163296. The polarisation fraction at
870{\mu}m is measured to be ~0.9% in the central core and generally increases
with radius along the disk major axis. It peaks in the gaps between the dust
rings, and the largest value (~4%) is found between rings 1 and 2. The
polarisation vectors are aligned with the disk minor axis in the central core,
but become more azimuthal in the gaps, twisting by up to +/-9degrees in the gap
between rings 1 and 2. These general characteristics are consistent with a
model of self-scattered radiation in the ringed structure, without requiring an
additional dust alignment mechanism. The 870/1300{\mu}m dust spectral index
exhibits minima in the centre and the inner rings, suggesting these regions
have high optical depths. However, further refinement of the dust or the disk
model at higher resolution is needed to reproduce simultaneously the observed
degree of polarisation and the low spectral index.Comment: 5 pages +2 pages supplemental data. v2 - revised figures and final
values; conclusions unchange
Continuum and line modeling of disks around young stars II. Line diagnostics for GASPS from the DENT grid
Aims. We want to understand the chemistry and physics of disks on the basis
of a large unbiased and statistically relevant grid of disk models. One of the
main goals is to explore the diagnostic power of various gas emission lines and
line ratios for deriving main disk parameters such as the gas mass. Methods. We
explore the results of the DENT grid (Disk Evolution with Neat Theory) that
consists of 300 000 disk models with 11 free parameters. Through a statistical
analysis, we search for correlations and trends in an effort to find tools for
disk diagnostic. Results. All calculated quantities like species masses,
temperatures, continuum and line fluxes differ by several orders of magnitude
across the entire parameter space. The broad distribution of these quantities
as a function of input parameters shows the limitation of using a prototype T
Tauri or Herbig Ae/Be disk model. The statistical analysis of the DENT grid
shows that CO gas is rarely the dominant carbon reservoir in disks. Models with
large inner radii (10 times the dust condensation radius) and/or shallow
surface density gradients lack massive gas phase water reservoirs. Also, 60% of
the disks have gas temperatures averaged over the oxygen mass in the range
between 15 and 70 K; the average gas temperatures for CO and O differ by less
than a factor two. Studying the observational diagnostics, the [CII] 158 \mum
fine structure line flux is very sensitive to the stellar UV flux and presence
of a UV excess and it traces the outer disk radius (Rout). In the submm, the CO
low J rotational lines also trace Rout. Low [OI] 63/145 line ratios (< a few)
can be explained with cool atomic O gas in the uppermost surface layers leading
to self-absorption in the 63 \mum line; this occurs mostly for massive
non-flaring, settled disk models without UV excess. ... abbreviatedComment: 15 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Dust masses of disks around 8 Brown Dwarfs and Very Low-Mass Stars in Upper Sco OB1 and Ophiuchus
We present the results of ALMA band 7 observations of dust and CO gas in the
disks around 7 objects with spectral types ranging between M5.5 and M7.5 in
Upper Scorpius OB1, and one M3 star in Ophiuchus. We detect unresolved
continuum emission in all but one source, and the CO J=3-2 line in two
sources. We constrain the dust and gas content of these systems using a grid of
models calculated with the radiative transfer code MCFOST, and find disk dust
masses between 0.1 and 1 M, suggesting that the stellar mass / disk
mass correlation can be extrapolated for brown dwarfs with masses as low as
0.05 M. The one disk in Upper Sco in which we detect CO emission, 2MASS
J15555600, is also the disk with warmest inner disk as traced by its H - [4.5]
photometric color. Using our radiative transfer grid, we extend the correlation
between stellar luminosity and mass-averaged disk dust temperature originally
derived for stellar mass objects to the brown dwarf regime to , applicable to spectral types
of M5 and later. This is slightly shallower than the relation for earlier
spectral type objects and yields warmer low-mass disks. The two prescriptions
cross at 0.27 L, corresponding to masses between 0.1 and 0.2 M
depending on age.Comment: 9 pages,6 figures, accepted to ApJ on 26/01/201
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