DISCS: A Disk Imaging Survey of Chemistry with the SMA

Details DISCS: A Disk Imaging Survey of Chemistry with the SMA DISCS: A Disk Imaging Survey of Chemistry with the SMA

May 2011

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011iaus..280e..39b&link_type=abstract

The Molecular Universe, Proceedings of the 280th Symposium of the International Astronomical Union held in Toledo, Spain, May 30

Physics

Scientific paper

DISCS is a Submillimeter Array (SMA) program aimed at assessing the impact of protoplanetary disk physics on disk chemistry by spatially (2--4 arcsec) and spectrally (0.5--1 km s-1) resolving millimeter emission from 8 key molecules and ions (CO, HCO+, DCO+, N2H+, HCN, DCN, CN, H2CO) in 12 nearby protoplanetary disks. The sample includes 6 disks in the Taurus star forming region and 6 disks in the southern sky and spans a range of physical environments, including stellar types from M1 to A0, orders of magnitude in accretion luminosity and X-ray flux, as well as a range of dust settling parameters. The CO J=2--1 and HCO+ J=3--2 lines are detected and resolved in all disks. The detection rates of DCO+, N2H+, DCN and H2CO are highest for the M and K stars, consistent with the need for a massive cold and protected molecular layer. The disk averaged CN to HCN ratio, a proposed tracer of the radiation field, shows surprisingly small variation across the sample, though there is some evidence for a dependence on disk radius. In addition, the detections show no correlation with accretion luminosity or with lines detected at infrared wavelengths, which suggests that the chemistry of the outer disk is not coupled to the processes that drive the chemistry in the inner few AU. We consider how ALMA will extend such studies to larger samples and to Solar System size scales, and what immediate progress will result in our understanding of protoplanetary disk chemistry.

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