Protostars and Planets VI, Heidelberg, July 15-20, 2013
Poster 2B035
H2O IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS: THE SNOW LINE AND THE PLANETS’ NEST
Antonellini, Stefano (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute)
Kamp, Inga (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute)
Woitke, Peter (St. Andrews University, School of Physics & Astronomy)
Thi, Wing-Fai (IPAG Grenoble)
Abstract:
Protoplanetary disks represent the stage between the pre-stellar collapse of the molecolar cloud and
the formation of a planetary system surrounding a main sequence star. The goal of the DIANA FP7
project (P.I.: P.Woitke) is to investigate the disks in multiwavelengths, considering available data of
photometry and spectroscopy, and give reason of the observed single and global properties of the
protoplanetary disks. It will work on a sample of 85 selected targets in different evolutionary stage
and surrounding different central stars. At NIR-MIR wavelengths, it is possible observe many lines of
water. Water is one of the main cooling agents of the disk, due to its abundance and the presence
of energy levels with excitation temperatures from few tens to few thousands of Kelvin. Water can
also exist in condensate phase (frozen on dust) outside the so-called ”snow line”, which increases the
surface density of solid material and therefore helps the formation of planets. Using a range of water
lines, we can scan the disk surface, thus probing the disk from the lowest to the highest temperature
regions and potentially indirectly detect the presence of the ”snow line”. Spectroscopic data from
Spitzer and Herschel is used to investigate the spatial distribution and the synthesis of water, in the
context of the thermophysical structure of the disk. This study is carried out with the codes ProDiMo
and MCMax, producing different models of disks and investigating the physical conditions to which the
water spectroscopy is sensitive. The work is done as part of the FP7 DIANA project.
Click here to view poster PDF