Models of Gas in Disks of Classical T Tauri Stars

Details Models of Gas in Disks of Classical T Tauri Stars Models of Gas in Disks of Classical T Tauri Stars

Jul 2003

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2003hst..prop.9930h&link_type=abstract

HST Proposal ID #9930

Physics

Hst Proposal Id #9930 Star Formation

Scientific paper

The formation of planets and planetessimals is very sensitive to the presence and structure of gas in the environment. While models of dust in disks of Classical T Tauri Stars {CTTSs} have reproduced the observed IR-to-mm spectral energy distibutions {SEDs} to determine dust masses, grain sizes, and disk lifetimes, until now the gas in disks has not been modelled at radii where planets actually form. Gas can significantly affect accretion onto giant planets, dampen eccentricities of terrestrial planets, and cause planetary migration. While typically gas is assumed to trace the dust, this assumption may not be appropriate because the excitation level of molecular hydrogen, the primary constituent of the gas in disks, is sensitive to FUV radiation, and accretion onto CTTSs produces large amounts of FUV radiation, particularly in Ly-alpha. Results of this excitation are clearly seen in STIS observations of CTTSs, which show strong molecular hydrogen fluorescence. We have available a C++ code that solves for the excitation of molecular hydrogen as a function of the UV radiation field, temperature, and gas density. We propose to modify this code from its present state to apply to disks around young stars. With these models and observations of the Ly-alpha and the FUV radiation fields, we will attempt to explain existing spectra of molecular hydrogen in the UV and the IR. We will also develop diagnostics to discriminate between disks and shocks and determine photodissociation and photoevaporation timescales of the gas in the disk. These results will significantly improve the understanding of the properties of gas at radii and evolutionary period when planets are forming. This work will form a part of Mr. Herczeg's PhD thesis.

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