Mathematics – Probability
Scientific paper
May 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011iaus..280p.237l&link_type=abstract
The Molecular Universe, Posters from the proceedings of the 280th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Tole
Mathematics
Probability
Scientific paper
Accurately characterizing protoplanetary disks (proplyds) is integral to understanding the formation and evolution of planetary systems. The chemical reactions and physical processes within a disk determine the abundances and variety of molecular building blocks available for planet formation. Observations at infrared to millimeter wavelengths confirm a plethora of organic molecules exist in proplyds, including H2O, OH, HCN, C2H2, CO, and CO2 (Carr & Najita, 2008; Pontoppidan et al., 2010). These molecules not only provide the solid material for ice+rock planetary cores, their line emission dominates the thermal balance in the disk and provides robust signatures to examine the dynamical evolution of protoplanetary environments. Thus, it is critical to understand molecular abundance profiles in disks and the processes that affect them. We aim to model molecular excitation in a sample of proplyds and thereby verify certain disk properties. Densities in the warm molecular layers of a disk are insufficient to ensure the conditions for local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE), so the state of the gas must be computed precisely. We utilize a radiative transfer code to model the radiation field in the disk, coupled with an escape probability code to determine the excitation of a given molecule, to derive the non-LTE level populations. We then utilize a raytracer to generate spectral image cubes covering the entire disk. We will present results for CO, whose relatively stable abundance and strong emission features provide a good foundation from which we can further constrain the parameters of a disk. Using infrared spectra from the NIRSPEC instrument on the Keck Telescope, we constrain column densities, temperatures, and emitting radii for a suite of nearby proplyds.
Blake Geoffrey
Lockwood Alexandra
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