A high resolution mid-infrared survey of water emission from protoplanetary disks

We present the largest survey of spectrally resolved mid-infrared water emission to date, with spectra for 11 disks obtained with the Michelle and TEXES spectrographs on Gemini North. Water emission is detected in 6 of 8 disks around classical T Tauri stars. Water emission is not detected in the transitional disks SR 24 N and SR 24 S, in spite of SR 24 S having pre-transitional disk properties like DoAr 44, which does show water emission (Salyk et al. 2015). With R~100,000, the TEXES water spectra have the highest spectral resolution possible at this time, and allow for detailed lineshape analysis. We find that the mid-IR water emission lines are similar to the "narrow component" in CO rovibrational emission (Banzatti & Pontoppidan 2015), consistent with disk radii of a few AU. The emission lines are either single peaked, or consistent with a double peak. Single-peaked emission lines cannot be produced with a Keplerian disk model, and may suggest that water participates in the disk winds proposed to explain single-peaked CO emission lines (Bast et al. 2011, Pontoppidan et al. 2011). Double-peaked emission lines can be used to determine the radius at which the line emission luminosity drops off. For HL Tau, the lower limit on this measured dropoff radius is consistent with the 13 AU dark ring (ALMA partnership et al. 2015). We also report variable line/continuum ratios from the disks around DR Tau and RW Aur, which we attribute to continuum changes and line flux changes, respectively. The reduction in RW Aur line flux corresponds with an observed dimming at visible wavelengths (Rodriguez et al. 2013).Comment: To appear in the Astrophysical Journa

Non-detection of L-band Line Emission from the Exoplanet HD189733b

We attempt to confirm bright non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (non-LTE) emission from the exoplanet HD 189733b at 3.25 μm, as recently reported by Swain et al. based on observations at low spectral resolving power (λ/δλ ≈ 30). Non-LTE emission lines from gas in an exoplanet atmosphere will not be significantly broadened by collisions, so the measured emission intensity per resolution element must be substantially brighter when observed at high spectral resolving power. We observed the planet before, during, and after a secondary eclipse event at a resolving power λ/δλ = 27, 000 using the NIRSPEC spectrometer on the Keck II telescope. Our spectra cover a spectral window near the peak found by Swain et al., and we compare emission cases that could account for the magnitude and wavelength dependence of the Swain et al. result with our final spectral residuals. To model the expected line emission, we use a general non-equilibrium formulation to synthesize emission features from all plausible molecules that emit in this spectral region. In every case, we detect no line emission to a high degree of confidence. After considering possible explanations for the Swain et al. results and the disparity with our own data, we conclude that an astrophysical source for the putative non-LTE emission is unlikely. We note that the wavelength dependence of the signal seen by Swain et al. closely matches the 2ν_2 band of water vapor at 300 K, and we suggest that an imperfect correction for telluric water is the source of the feature claimed by Swain et al

H2O and OH gas in the terrestrial planet-forming zones of protoplanetary disks

We present detections of numerous 10-20 micron H2O emission lines from two protoplanetary disks around the T Tauri stars AS 205A and DR Tau, obtained using the InfraRed Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. Follow-up 3-5 micron Keck-NIRSPEC data confirm the presence of abundant water and spectrally resolve the lines. We also detect the P4.5 (2.934 micron) and P9.5 (3.179 micron) doublets of OH and 12CO/13CO v=1-0 emission in both sources. Line shapes and LTE models suggest that the emission from all three molecules originates between ~0.5 and 5 AU, and so will provide a new window for understanding the chemical environment during terrestrial planet formation. LTE models also imply significant columns of H2O and OH in the inner disk atmospheres, suggesting physical transport of volatile ices either vertically or radially; while the significant radial extent of the emission stresses the importance of a more complete understanding of non-thermal excitation processes.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, aastex, to appear in the Astrophysical Journa

A Spitzer survey of mid-infrared molecular emission from protoplanetary disks I: Detection rates

We present a Spitzer InfraRed Spectrometer search for 10-36 micron molecular emission from a large sample of protoplanetary disks, including lines from H2O, OH, C2H2, HCN and CO2. This paper describes the sample and data processing and derives the detection rate of mid-infrared molecular emission as a function of stellar mass. The sample covers a range of spectral type from early M to A, and is supplemented by archival spectra of disks around A and B stars. It is drawn from a variety of nearby star forming regions, including Ophiuchus, Lupus and Chamaeleon. In total, we identify 22 T Tauri stars with strong mid-infrared H2O emission. Integrated water line luminosities, where water vapor is detected, range from 5x10^-4 to 9x10^-3 Lsun, likely making water the dominant line coolant of inner disk surfaces in classical T Tauri stars. None of the 5 transitional disks in the sample show detectable gaseous molecular emission with Spitzer upper limits at the 1% level in terms of line-to-continuum ratios (apart from H2). We find a strong dependence on detection rate with spectral type; no disks around our sample of 25 A and B stars were found to exhibit water emission, down to 1-2% line-to-continuum ratios, in the mid-infrared, while almost 2/3 of the disks around K stars show sufficiently intense water emission to be detected by Spitzer. Some Herbig Ae/Be stars show tentative H2O/OH emission features beyond 20 micron at the 1-2 level, however, and one of them shows CO2 in emission. We argue that the observed differences between T Tauri disks and Herbig Ae/Be disks is due to a difference in excitation and/or chemistry depending on spectral type and suggest that photochemistry may be playing an important role in the observable characteristics of mid-infrared molecular line emission from protoplanetary disks.Comment: 19 pages, accepted for publication in Ap