Spatial Variation in Temperature and Density in the IC 63 PDR from H2 Spectroscopy

We have measured the gas temperature in the IC 63 photodissociation region (PDR) using the S(1) and S(5) pure rotation lines of molecular hydrogen with SOFIA/EXES. We divide the PDR into three regions for analysis based on the illumination from γ Cas: sunny, ridge, and shady. Constructing rotation diagrams for the different regions, we obtain temperatures of T ex = 562 − 43 + 52 K toward the ridge and T ex = 495 − 25 + 28 K in the shady side. The H2 emission was not detected on the sunny side of the ridge, likely due to the photodissociation of H2 in this gas. Our temperature values are lower than the value of T ex = 685 ± 68 K using the S(1), S(3), and S(5) pure rotation lines, derived by Thi et al. using lower spatial resolution ISO-SWS data at a different location of the IC 63 PDR. This difference indicates that the PDR is inhomogeneous and illustrates the need for high-resolution mapping of such regions to fully understand their physics. The detection of a temperature gradient correlated with the extinction into the cloud, points to the ability of using H2 pure rotational line spectroscopy to map the gas temperature on small scales. We used a PDR model to estimate the FUV radiation and corresponding gas densities in IC 63. Our results shows the capability of SOFIA/EXES to resolve and provide detailed information on the temperature in such regions.

Vertical wind profiling from the troposphere to the lower mesosphere based on high-resolution heterodyne near-infrared spectroradiometry

We propose a new technique of remote wind measurements based on Doppler analysis of a CO2 absorption line in the 1.605 µm overtone band measured in the direct Sun observation geometry. Heterodyne spectroradiometric measurements of the solar radiation passing through the atmosphere provide an unprecedented spectral resolution up to λ/δλ∼6×107, with a signal-to-noise ratio of more than 100. The shape of the individual rotational line profile provides an unambiguous relationship between the offset from the line center and the altitude at which the respective part of the line profile is formed. Therefore, an inverse problem may be posed in order to retrieve the vertical distribution of wind because with retrievals the vertical resolution is compromised by a spectral resolution and the signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements. A close coincidence between the measured and synthetic absorption line is reached, with retrieved wind profiles between the surface and 50 km being in good agreement with reanalysis models. This method may pose an alternative to widely employed lidar and radar techniques.

Mass constraints for 15 protoplanetary discs from HD 1–0

Context. Hydrogen deuteride (HD) rotational line emission can provide reliable protoplanetary disc gas mass measurements, but this molecule is difficult to observe and detections have been limited to three T Tauri discs. No new data have been available since the Herschel Space Observatory mission ended in 2013. Aims. We set out to obtain new disc gas mass constraints by analysing upper limits on HD 1–0 emission in Herschel/PACS archival data from the DIGIT key programme. Methods. With a focus on the Herbig Ae/Be discs, whose stars are more luminous than T Tauris, we determined upper limits for HD in data previously analysed for its line detections. We studied the significance of these limits with a grid of models run with the DALI physical-chemical code, customised to include deuterium chemistry. Results. Nearly all the discs are constrained to Mgas ≤ 0.1 M⊙, ruling out global gravitational instability. A strong constraint is obtained for the HD 163296 disc mass, Mgas ≤ 0.067 M⊙, implying Δg/d ≤ 100. This HD-based mass limit is towards the low end of CO-based mass estimates for the disc, highlighting the large uncertainty in using only CO and suggesting that gas-phase CO depletion in HD 163296 is at most a factor of a few. The Mgas limits for HD 163296 and HD 100546, both bright discs with massive candidate protoplanetary systems, suggest disc-to-planet mass conversion efficiencies of Mp/(Mgas + Mp) ≈ 10–40% for present-day values. Near-future observations with SOFIA/HIRMES will be able to detect HD in the brightest Herbig Ae/Be discs within 150 pc with ≈ 10 h integration time.

The Case for Methyl Group Precession Accompanying Torsional Motion

For molecules containing a methyl group, high precision fits of rotational line data (microwave spectra) that encompass several torsional states require considerably more constants than are required in comparable rigid molecules. Many of these additional terms are ‘torsion-rotation interaction’ terms, but their precise physical meaning is unclear. In this paper, we explore the physical origins of many of these additional terms in the case where the methyl group is attached to a planar frame. We show that torsion-vibration coupling, which has been observed in toluene and several substituted toluenes, provides the dominant contribution to a number of the torsion-rotation constants in toluene. It is further demonstrated that this coupling is intimately related to precession of the methyl group. A number of the constants required in the high resolution fits of rotational line data are shown to arise as a natural consequence of methyl precession. By considering several molecules whose rotational line spectra have been fit to high precision, we demonstrate that the experimental evidence is consistent with the occurrence of methyl group precession. Quantum chemistry calculations of the optimised molecular structures at key torsional angles provide further evidence that methyl precession occurs. There is both a torsional angle dependent tilt of the Cmethyl-frame bond and of the methyl group principal rotation axis relative to the Cmethyl-frame bond.

Vertical wind profiling from troposphere to the lower mesosphere based on high resolution heterodyne near-infrared spectroradiometry

We propose a new technique of remote wind measurements based on Doppler analysis of a CO2 absorption line in the 1.605 μm overtone band measured in the direct Sun observation geometry. Heterodyne spectroradiometric measurements of the solar radiation passed through the atmosphere provides an unprecedented spectral resolution up to λ/δλ ~ 107–108 with a signal-to-noise ratio more than 100. The shape of the individual rotational line profile provides unambiguous relationship between offset from the line centre and altitude where a respective part of the line profile is formed. Therefore, an inverse problem may be posed in order to retrieve vertical distribution of wind, with retrievals vertical resolution compromised by a spectral resolution and signal-to-noise ratio of the measurements. A close coincidence between measured and synthetic absorption line is reached, with retrieved wind profile between the surface and 50 km being in a good agreement with reanalysis models. This method may pose an alternative to widely employed lidar and radar techniques.

Radiation thermo-chemical models of protoplanetary disks

Context. Disks around pre-main-sequence stars evolve over time by turbulent viscous spreading. The main contender to explain the strength of the turbulence is the magnetorotational instability model, whose efficiency depends on the disk ionization fraction. Aims. Our aim is to compute self-consistently the chemistry including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) charge chemistry, the grain charging, and an estimate of an effective value of the turbulence α parameter in order to find observational signatures of disk turbulence. Methods. We introduced PAH and grain charging physics and their interplay with other gas-phase reactions in the physico-chemical code PRODIMO. Non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics effects such as ohmic and ambipolar diffusion are parametrized to derive an effective value for the turbulent parameter αeff. We explored the effects of turbulence heating and line broadening on CO isotopologue submillimeter lines. Results. The spatial distribution of αeff depends on various unconstrained disk parameters such as the magnetic parameter βmag or the cosmic ray density distribution inside the protoplanetary disk s. The inner disk midplane shows the presence of the so-called dead zone where the turbulence is almost inexistent. The disk is heated mostly by thermal accommodation on dust grains in the dead zone, by viscous heating outside the dead zone up to a few hundred astronomical units, and by chemical heating in the outer disk. The CO rotational lines probe the warm molecular disk layers where the turbulence is at its maximum. However, the effect of turbulence on the CO line profiles is minimal and difficult to distinguish from the thermal broadening. Conclusions. Viscous heating of the gas in the disk midplane outside the dead zone is efficient. The determination of α from CO rotational line observations alone is challenging.

Inferring giant planets from ALMA millimeter continuum and line observations in (transition) disks

Context. Radial gaps or cavities in the continuum emission in the IR-mm wavelength range are potential signatures of protoplanets embedded in their natal protoplanetary disk are. Hitherto, models have relied on the combination of mm continuum observations and near-infrared scattered light images to put constraints on the properties of embedded planets. Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations are now probing spatially resolved rotational line emission of CO and other chemical species. These observations can provide complementary information on the mechanism carving the gaps in dust and additional constraints on the purported planet mass. Aims. We investigate whether the combination of ALMA continuum and CO line observations can constrain the presence and mass of planets embedded in protoplanetary disks. Methods. We post-processed azimuthally averaged 2D hydrodynamical simulations of planet-disk models, in which the dust densities and grain size distributions are computed with a dust evolution code that considers radial drift, fragmentation, and growth. The simulations explored various planet masses (1 MJ ≤ Mp ≤ 15 MJ) and turbulent parameters (10−4 ≤ α ≤ 10−3). The outputs were then post-processed with the thermochemical code DALI, accounting for the radially and vertically varying dust properties. We obtained the gas and dust temperature structures, chemical abundances, and synthetic emission maps of both thermal continuum and CO rotational lines. This is the first study combining hydrodynamical simulations, dust evolution, full radiative transfer, and chemistry to predict gas emission of disks hosting massive planets. Results. All radial intensity profiles of 12CO, 13CO, and C18O show a gap at the planet location. The ratio between the location of the gap as seen in CO and the peak in the mm continuum at the pressure maximum outside the orbit of the planet shows a clear dependence on planet mass and is independent of disk viscosity for the parameters explored in this paper. Because of the low dust density in the gaps, the dust and gas components can become thermally decoupled and the gas becomes colder than the dust. The gaps seen in CO are due to a combination of gas temperature dropping at the location of the planet and of the underlying surface density profile. Both effects need to be taken into account and disentangled when inferring gas surface densities from observed CO intensity profiles; otherwise, the gas surface density drop at the planet location can easily be overestimated. CO line ratios across the gap are able to quantify the gas temperature drop in the gaps in observed systems. Finally, a CO cavity not observed in any of the models, only CO gaps, indicating that one single massive planet is not able to explain the CO cavities observed in transition disks, at least without additional physical or chemical mechanisms.