Interpreting molecular hydrogen and atomic oxygen line emission of T Tauri disks with photoevaporative disk-wind models
Authors: Ch. Rab, M. Weber, T. Grassi, B. Ercolano, G. Picogna, P. Caselli, W. -F. Thi, I. Kamp, P. Woitke
AI-generated Key Points
- Protoplanetary disks are important for planet formation and evolution.
- Winds within these disks play a significant role in their dispersal and evolution, but the physical process driving these winds is still unclear.
- Theoretical models must be compared to observational data to better understand this process.
- Hydrodynamic photoevaporative disk-wind models were used to produce synthetic observables for o-H$_2$ at 2.12 micron and [OI] at 0.63 micron spectral lines, which were then compared to a sample of observations.
- The photoevaporative disk-wind model was consistent with the observed signatures of blueshifted narrow low-velocity components (NLVCs) for both tracers, except for one target out of seven that showed blueshifted NLVCs where the model failed to explain the observed line kinematics.
- Interpreting spectral line profiles by simple methods such as the thin-disk approximation can lead to misleading conclusions about the line emitting region.
- Further improvements to these models could include more consistent modeling of dynamics and chemistry as well as detailed modeling of individual targets.
- A direct comparison of magnetically driven disk-wind models to observational data would be necessary to determine if spatially unresolved observations of multiple wind tracers are sufficient for discriminating between theoretical models.
- This study provides valuable insights into protoplanetary disk winds and highlights areas where further research is needed for a more comprehensive understanding of their evolution and dispersal processes.
Abstract: Winds in protoplanetary disks play an important role in their evolution and dispersal. However, what physical process is driving the winds is still unclear (i.e. magnetically vs thermally driven), and can only be understood by directly confronting theoretical models with observational data. We use hydrodynamic photoevaporative disk-wind models and post-process them with a thermo-chemical model to produce synthetic observables for the o-H$_2$ at 2.12 micron and [OI] at 0.63 micron spectral lines and directly compare the results to a sample of observations. Our photoevaporative disk-wind model is consistent with the observed signatures of the blueshifted narrow low-velocity component (NLVC), which is usually associated with slow disk winds, for both tracers. Only for one out of seven targets that show blueshifted NLVCs does the photoevaporative model fail to explain the observed line kinematics. Our results also indicate that interpreting spectral line profiles by simple methods, such as the thin-disk approximation, to determine the line emitting region can yield misleading conclusions. The photoevaporative disk-wind models are largely consistent with the studied observational data set, but it is not possible to clearly discriminate between different wind-driving mechanisms. Further improvements to the models, such as consistent modelling of the dynamics and chemistry and detailed modelling of individual targets would be beneficial. Furthermore, a direct comparison of magnetically driven disk-wind models to the observational data set is necessary in order to determine whether or not spatially unresolved observations of multiple wind tracers are sufficient to discriminate between theoretical models.
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