The effect of scattering on the structure and SED of protoplanetary disks

In this paper we investigate how the inclusion of scattering of the stellar radiation into a passive flaring disk model affects its structure and spectral energy distribution, and whether neglecting it could significantly decrease the model reliability. In order to address these questions we construct a detailed 1+1D vertical structure model in which the scattering properties of the dust can be varied. Models are presented with and without dust scattering, and for different albedos and phase functions. It is found that scattering has the effect of reducing the disk temperature at all heights, so that the disk "shrinks", i.e., the the density at all intermediate heights decreases. However, this effect in most cases is more than compensated by the increase of the total extinction (absorption + scattering) cross section, so that the surface scale height increases, and images in scattered light will see a slightly thicker disk. The integrated infrared emission decreases as the albedo increases, because an increasing part of the flux captured by the disk is reflected away instead of absorbed and reprocessed. The reduction of the infrared thermal emission of the disk is stronger at short wavelengths (near infrared) and practically negligible at millimeter wavelengths. For relatively low albedo (alb <~ 0.5), or for strongly forward-peaked scattering (g roughly >0.8), the infrared flux reduction is relatively small.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Unveiling the Structure of Pre-Transitional Disks

In the past few years, several disks with inner holes that are empty of small dust grains have been detected and are known as transitional disks. Recently, Spitzer has identified a new class of "pre-transitional disks" with gaps; these objects have an optically thick inner disk separated from an optically thick outer disk by an optically thin disk gap. A near-infrared spectrum provided the first confirmation of a gap in the pre-transitional disk of LkCa 15 by verifying that the near-infrared excess emission in this object was due to an optically thick inner disk. Here we investigate the difference between the nature of the inner regions of transitional and pre-transitional disks using the same veiling-based technique to extract the near-infrared excess emission above the stellar photosphere. We show that the near-infrared excess emission of the previously identified pre-transitional disks of LkCa 15 and UX Tau A in Taurus as well as the newly identified pre-transitional disk of ROX 44 in Ophiuchus can be fit with an inner disk wall located at the dust destruction radius. We also model the broad-band SEDs of these objects, taking into account the effect of shadowing by the inner disk on the outer disk, considering the finite size of the star. The near-infrared excess continua of these three pre-transitional disks, which can be explained by optically thick inner disks, are significantly different from that of the transitional disks of GM Aur, whose near-infrared excess continuum can be reproduced by emission from sub-micron-sized optically thin dust, and DM Tau, whose near-infrared spectrum is consistent with a disk hole that is relatively free of small dust. The structure of pre-transitional disks may be a sign of young planets forming in these disks and future studies of pre-transitional disks will provide constraints to aid in theoretical modeling of planet formation.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ on May 10, 2010; 29 page

Viscous diffusion and photoevaporation of stellar disks

The evolution of a stellar disk under the influence of viscous evolution, photoevaporation from the central source, and photoevaporation by external stars is studied. We take the typical parameters of TTSs and the Trapezium Cluster conditions. The photoionizing flux from the central source is assumed to arise both from the quiescent star and accretion shocks at the base of stellar magnetospheric columns, along which material from the disk accretes. The accretion flux is calculated self-consistently from the accretion mass loss rate. We find that the disk cannot be entirely removed using only viscous evolution and photoionization from the disk-star accretion shock. However, when FUV photoevaporation by external massive stars is included the disk is removed in 10^6 -10^7yr; and when EUV photoevaporation by external massive stars is included the disk is removed in 10^5 - 10^6yr. An intriguing feature of photoevaporation by the central star is the formation of a gap in the disk at late stages of the disk evolution. As the gap starts forming, viscous spreading and photoevaporation work in resonance. There is no gap formation for disks nearby external massive stars because the outer annuli are quickly removed by the dominant EUV flux. On the other hand, at larger, more typical distances (d>>0.03pc) from the external stars the flux is FUV dominated. As a consequence, the disk is efficiently evaporated at two different locations; forming a gap during the last stages of the disk evolution.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Growth and nutritional response of Nemared peach rootstock infected with Pratylenchus vulnus and the mycorrhizal fungus Glomus mosseae

Les effets de l'interaction entre #Pratylenchus vulnus et le champignon mycorrhizien #Glomus mosseae sur les porte-greffe de pêcher "Nemared" ont été étudiés en microparcelles pendant deux saisons de croissance. Le poids frais des pieds, le diamètre de la tige, la longueur des pieds et le poids frais des racines sont significativement plus faibles chez les pieds infestés par le nématode - qu'ils soient ou non colonisés par #G. mosseae$- que chez les pieds non infestés. Un taux élevé de phosphore augmente la croissance des pêchers dans le cas de témoins non mycorrhizés. Les traitements des pieds infestés par "P. vulnus$ à l'aide de mycorrhizes provoquent une diminution de la population finale du nématode et du nombre de nématodes par gramme de racine par rapport aux pieds infestés par #P. vulnus et non traités à l'aide du champignon. La colonisation par les mycorrhizes n'est pas affectée par la présence du nématode. Chez les pieds infestés par le nématode, le Cu est le seul élément déficitaire détecté par analyse foliaire, quoique des taux faibles de fer y aient été observés. Les taux les plus élevés de Ma, Mg, Mn et Zn ont été détectés chez les pieds infestés par #P. vulnus. Les pieds mycorrhizés recèlent les taux les plus élevés de Cu et d'Al. #G. mosseae est bénéfique pour la croissance des pêchers "Nemared" mais ne leur confère aucune protection contre #P. vulnus. (Résumé d'auteur

Short Gas Dissipation Timescales: Diskless Stars in Taurus and Chamaeleon I

We present an Advanced Camera for Surveys/ Solar Blind Channel far-ultraviolet (FUV) study of \h2 gas in 12 weak T Tauri stars in nearby star-forming regions. The sample consists of sources which have no evidence of inner disk dust. Our new FUV spectra show that in addition to the dust, the gas is depleted from the inner disk. This sample is combined with a larger FUV sample of accretors and non-accretors with ages between 1 and 100 Myr, showing that as early as 1--3 Myr, systems both with and without gas are found. Possible mechanisms for depleting gas quickly include viscous evolution, planet formation and photoevaporation by stellar radiation fields. Since these mechanisms alone cannot account for the lack of gas at 1--3 Myr, it is likely that the initial conditions (e.g. initial disk mass or core angular momentum) contribute to the variety of disks observed at any age. We estimate the angular momentum of a cloud needed for most of the mass to fall very close to the central object and compare this to models of the expected distribution of angular momenta. Up to 20% of cloud cores have low enough angular momenta to form disks with the mass close to the star, which would then accrete quickly; this percentage is similar to the fraction of diskless stars in the youngest star forming regions. With our sample, we characterize the chromospheric contribution to the FUV luminosity and find that $L_{FUV}/L_{bol}$ saturates at $\sim10^{-4.1}$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Accepted to ApJ

Discovery of a Planetary-Mass Brown Dwarf with a Circumstellar Disk

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, the 4 m Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, and the Spitzer Space Telescope, we have performed deep imaging from 0.8 to 8 um of the southern subcluster in the Chamaeleon I star-forming region. In these data, we have discovered an object, Cha 110913-773444, whose colors and magnitudes are indicative of a very low-mass brown dwarf with a circumstellar disk. In a near-infrared spectrum of this source obtained with the Gemini Near-Infrared Spectrograph, the presence of strong steam absorption confirms its late-type nature (>=M9.5) while the shapes of the H- and K-band continua and the strengths of the Na I and K I lines demonstrate that it is a young, pre-main-sequence object rather than a field dwarf. A comparison of the bolometric luminosity of Cha 110913-773444 to the luminosities predicted by the evolutionary models of Chabrier and Baraffe and Burrows and coworkers indicates a mass of 8+7/-3 M_Jup, placing it fully within the mass range observed for extrasolar planetary companions (M<=15 M_Jup). The spectral energy distribution of this object exhibits mid-infrared excess emission at >5 um, which we have successfully modeled in terms of an irradiated viscous accretion disk with M'<=10e-12 M_sun/year. Cha 110913-773444 is now the least massive brown dwarf observed to have a circumstellar disk, and indeed is one of the least massive free-floating objects found to date. These results demonstrate that the raw materials for planet formation exist around free-floating planetary-mass bodies.Comment: 5 pages, accepted to Astrophysical Journal Letter

Accretion through the inner hole of transitional disks: What happens to the dust?

We study the effect of radiation pressure on the dust in the inner rim of transitional disks with large inner holes. In particular, we evaluate whether radiation pressure can be responsible for keeping the inner holes dust-free, while allowing gas accretion to proceed. This has been proposed in a paper by Chiang and Murray-Clay (2007, Nature Physics 3, p. 604) who explain the formation of these holes as an inside-out evacuation due to X- ray-triggered accretion of the innermost layer of the disk rim outside of the hole. We show that radiation pressure is clearly incapable of stopping dust from flowing into the hole because of dust pile-up and optical depth effects, and also because of viscous mixing. Other mechanisms need to be found to explain the persistence of the opacity hole in the presence of accretion, and we speculate on possible solutions.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication by Astronomy and Astrophysic