194 research outputs found
Benzene formation in the inner regions of protostellar disks
Benzene (c-C6H6) formation in the inner 3 AU of a protostellar disk can be
efficient, resulting in high abundances of benzene in the midplane region. The
formation mechanism is different to that found in interstellar clouds and in
protoplanetary nebulae, and proceeds mainly through the reaction between allene
(C3H4) and its ion. This has implications for PAH formation, in that some
fraction of PAHs seen in the solar system could be native rather than inherited
from the interstellar medium.Comment: 9 pages, 2 colour figures, to be published in the Astrophysical
Journal Letter
Deuterium chemistry in protoplanetary disks II The inner 30 AU
We present the results of models of the chemistry, including deuterium, in
the inner regions of protostellar disks. We find good agreement with recent gas
phase observations of several (non--deuterated) species. We also compare our
results with observations of comets and find that in the absence of other
processing e.g. in the accretion shock at the surface of the disk, or by mixing
in the disk, the calculated D/H ratios in ices are higher than measured and
reflect the D/H ratio set in the molecular cloud phase. Our models give quite
different abundances and molecular distributions to other inner disk models
because of the differences in physical conditions in the model disk. This
emphasizes how changes in the assumptions about the density and temperature
distribution can radically affect the results of chemical models.Comment: Accepted by Astrophysical Journa
The Influence of Deuteration and Turbulent Diffusion on the Observed D/H Ratio
The influence of turbulent mixing on the chemistry of the interstellar medium
has so far received little attention. Previous studies of this effect have
suggested that it might play an important role in mixing the various phases of
the interstellar medium. In this paper we examine the potential effects of
turbulent diffusion on the deuterium chemistry within molecular clouds. We find
that such mixing acts to reduce the efficiency of deuteration in these clouds
by increasing the ionization fraction and reducing freeze-out of heavy
molecules. This leads to lower abundances for many deuterated species. We also
examine the influence of turbulent mixing on the transition from atomic
hydrogen to H2 and from atomic deuterium to HD near the cloud edge. We find
that including turbulent diffusion in our models serves to push these
transitions deeper into the cloud and helps maintain a higher atomic fraction
throughout the cloud envelope. Based on these findings, we propose a new
process to account for the significant scatter in the observed atomic D/H ratio
for galactic sightlines extending beyond the Local Bubble. Although several
mechanisms have been put forward to explain this scatter, they are unable to
fully account for the range in D/H values. We suggest a scenario in which
turbulent mixing of atomic and molecular gas at the edges of molecular clouds
causes the observed atomic D/H ratio to vary by a factor of ~2.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
The abundance of SiS in circumstellar envelopes around AGB stars
New SiS multi-transition (sub-)millimetre line observations of a sample of
AGB stars with varying photospheric C/O-ratios and mass-loss rates are
presented. A combination of low- and high-energy lines are important in
constraining the circumstellar distribution of SiS molecules. A detailed
radiative transfer modelling of the observed SiS line emission is performed,
including the effect of thermal dust grains in the excitation analysis. We find
that the circumstellar fractional abundance of SiS in these environments has a
strong dependence on the photospheric C/O-ratio as expected from chemical
models. The carbon stars (C/O>1) have a mean fractional abundance of 3.1E-6,
about an order of magnitude higher than found for the M-type AGB stars (C/O<1)
where the mean value is 2.7E-7. These numbers are in reasonable agreement with
photospheric LTE chemical models. SiS appears to behave similar to SiO in terms
of photodissociation in the outer part of the circumstellar envelope. In
contrast to previous results for the related molecule SiO, there is no strong
correlation of the fractional abundance with density in the CSE, as would be
the case if freeze-out onto dust grains were important. However, possible
time-variability of the line emission in the lower J transitions and the
sensitivity of the line emission to abundance gradients in the inner part of
the CSE may mask a correlation with the density of the wind. There are
indications that the SiS fractional abundance could be significantly higher
closer to the star which, at least in the case of M-type AGB stars, would
require non-equilibrium chemical processes.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A (14 pages, 7 figures
On the frequency of N2H+ and N2D+
Context : Dynamical studies of prestellar cores search for small velocity
differences between different tracers. The highest radiation frequency
precision is therefore required for each of these species. Aims : We want to
adjust the frequency of the first three rotational transitions of N2H+ and N2D+
and extrapolate to the next three transitions. Methods : N2H+ and N2D+ are
compared to NH3 the frequency of which is more accurately known and which has
the advantage to be spatially coexistent with N2H+ and N2D+ in dark cloud
cores. With lines among the narrowests, and N2H+ and NH3 emitting region among
the largests, L183 is a good candidate to compare these species. Results : A
correction of ~10 kHz for the N2H+ (J:1-0) transition has been found (~0.03
km/s) and similar corrections, from a few m/s up to ~0.05 km/s are reported for
the other transitions (N2H+ J:3-2 and N2D+ J:1-0, J:2-1, and J:3-2) compared to
previous astronomical determinations. Einstein spontaneous decay coefficients
(Aul) are included
Chemistry in a gravitationally unstable protoplanetary disc
Until now, axisymmetric, alpha-disc models have been adopted for calculations
of the chemical composition of protoplanetary discs. While this approach is
reasonable for many discs, it is not appropriate when self-gravity is
important. In this case, spiral waves and shocks cause temperature and density
variations that affect the chemistry. We have adopted a dynamical model of a
solar-mass star surrounded by a massive (0.39 Msun), self-gravitating disc,
similar to those that may be found around Class 0 and early Class I protostars,
in a study of disc chemistry. We find that for each of a number of species,
e.g. H2O, adsorption and desorption dominate the changes in the gas-phase
fractional abundance; because the desorption rates are very sensitive to
temperature, maps of the emissions from such species should reveal the
locations of shocks of varying strengths. The gas-phase fractional abundances
of some other species, e.g. CS, are also affected by gas-phase reactions,
particularly in warm shocked regions. We conclude that the dynamics of massive
discs have a strong impact on how they appear when imaged in the emission lines
of various molecular species.Comment: 10 figures and 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRA
High Resolution 4.7 um Keck/NIRSPEC Spectra of Protostars. I: Ices and Infalling Gas in the Disk of L1489 IRS
We explore the infrared M band (4.7 um) spectrum of the class I protostar
L1489 IRS in the Taurus Molecular Cloud. This is the highest resolution wide
coverage spectrum at this wavelength of a low mass protostar observed to date
(R=25,000; Dv=12 km/s). Many narrow absorption lines of gas phase 12CO, 13CO,
and C18O are detected, as well as a prominent band of solid 12CO. The gas phase
12CO lines have red shifted absorption wings (up to 100 km/s), likely
originating from warm disk material falling toward the central object. The
isotopes and the 12CO line wings are successfully fitted with a contracting
disk model of this evolutionary transitional object (Hogerheijde 2001). This
shows that the inward motions seen in millimeter wave emission lines continue
to within ~0.1 AU from the star. The colder parts of the disk are traced by the
prominent CO ice band. The band profile results from CO in 'polar' ices (CO
mixed with H2O), and CO in 'apolar' ices. At the high spectral resolution, the
'apolar' component is, for the first time, resolved into two distinct
components, likely due to pure CO and CO mixed with CO2, O2 and/or N2. The ices
have probably experienced thermal processing in the upper disk layer traced by
our pencil absorption beam: much of the volatile 'apolar' ices has evaporated
and the depletion factor of CO onto grains is remarkably low (~7%). This study
shows that high spectral resolution 4.7 um observations provide important and
unique information on the dynamics and structure of protostellar disks and the
evolution of ices in these disks.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures Scheduled to appear in ApJ 568 n2, 1 April 200
On the Ionisation Fraction in Protoplanetary Disks II: The Effect of Turbulent Mixing on Gas--phase Chemistry
We calculate the ionisation fraction in protostellar disk models using two
different gas-phase chemical networks, and examine the effect of turbulent
mixing by modelling the diffusion of chemical species vertically through the
disk. The aim is to determine in which regions of the disk gas can couple to a
magnetic field and sustain MHD turbulence. We find that the effect of diffusion
depends crucially on the elemental abundance of heavy metals (magnesium)
included in the chemical model. In the absence of heavy metals, diffusion has
essentially no effect on the ionisation structure of the disks, as the
recombination time scale is much shorter than the turbulent diffusion time
scale. When metals are included with an elemental abundance above a threshold
value, the diffusion can dramatically reduce the size of the magnetically
decoupled region, or even remove it altogther. For a complex chemistry the
elemental abundance of magnesium required to remove the dead zone is 10(-10) -
10(-8). We also find that diffusion can modify the reaction pathways, giving
rise to dominant species when diffusion is switched on that are minor species
when diffusion is absent. This suggests that there may be chemical signatures
of diffusive mixing that could be used to indirectly detect turbulent activity
in protoplanetary disks. We find examples of models in which the dead zone in
the outer disk region is rendered deeper when diffusion is switched on. Overall
these results suggest that global MHD turbulence in protoplanetary disks may be
self-sustaining under favourable circumstances, as turbulent mixing can help
maintain the ionisation fraction above that necessary to ensure good coupling
between the gas and magnetic field.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures; accepted for publication in A &
The distribution of H13CN in the circumstellar envelope around IRC+10216
H13CN J=8-7 sub-millimetre line emission produced in the circumstellar
envelope around the extreme carbon star IRC+10216 has been imaged at
sub-arcsecond angular resolution using the SMA. Supplemented by a detailed
excitation analysis the average fractional abundance of H13CN in the inner wind
(< 5E15 cm) is estimated to be about 4E-7, translating into a total HCN
fractional abundance of 2E-5 using the isotopic ratio 12C/13C=50.
Multi-transitional single-dish observations further requires the H13CN
fractional abundance to remain more or less constant in the envelope out to a
radius of about 4E16 cm, where the HCN molecules are effectively destroyed,
most probably, by photodissociation. The large amount of HCN present in the
inner wind provides effective line cooling that can dominate over that
generated from CO line emission. It is also shown that great care needs to be
taken in the radiative transfer modelling where non-local, and non-LTE, effects
are important and where the radiation field from thermal dust grains plays a
major role in exciting the HCN molecules. The amount of HCN present in the
circumstellar envelope around IRC+10216 is consistent with predicted
photospheric values based on equilibrium chemical models and indicates that any
non-equilibrium chemistry occurring in the extended pulsating atmosphere has no
drastic net effect on the fractional abundance of HCN molecules that enters the
outer envelope. It further suggests that few HCN molecules are incorporated
into dust grains.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ. 20 pages, 7 figure
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