Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2003-05-29
Astrophys.J. 591 (2003) L159-L162
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
14 pages, 4 figures, accepted by ApJ Letters
Scientific paper
10.1086/377148
We show in this Letter that the spectral details of the FUV radiation fields have a large impact on the chemistry of protoplanetary disks surrounding T Tauri stars. We show that the strength of a realistic stellar FUV field is significantly lower than typically assumed in chemical calculations and that the radiation field is dominated by strong line emission, most notably Lyman alpha radiation. The effects of the strong Lyman alpha emission on the chemical equilibrium in protoplanetary disks has previously been unrecognized. We discuss the impact of this radiation on molecular observations in the context of a radiative transfer model that includes both direct attenuation and scattering. In particular, Lyman alpha radiation will directly dissociate water vapor and may contribute to the observed enhancements of CN/HCN in disks.
Bergin Edwin
Calvet Nuria
D'Alessio Paola
Herczeg Gregory J.
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