RESOLVING THE CO SNOW LINE IN THE DISK AROUND HD 163296

Journal Article · Thu Oct 20 00:00:00 EDT 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/740/2/84; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21587364

Chunhua, Qi; Oeberg, Karin I; Wilner, David J; Hughes, A Meredith; Andrews, Sean M ^[1]; D'Alessio, Paola; Ayala, Sandra ^[2]

---

1. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, MS 42, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
2. Centro de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, 58089 Morelia, Michoacan (Mexico)

We report Submillimeter Array observations of CO (J = 2-1, 3-2, and 6-5) and its isotopologues ({sup 13}CO J = 2-1, C{sup 18}O J = 2-1, and C{sup 17}O J = 3-2) in the disk around the Herbig Ae star HD 163296 at {approx}2'' (250 AU) resolution, and interpret these data in the framework of a model that constrains the radial and vertical location of the line emission regions. First, we develop a physically self-consistent accretion disk model with an exponentially tapered edge that matches the spectral energy distribution and spatially resolved millimeter dust continuum emission. Then, we refine the vertical structure of the model using wide range of excitation conditions sampled by the CO lines, in particular the rarely observed J = 6-5 transition. By fitting {sup 13}CO data in this structure, we further constrain the vertical distribution of CO to lie between a lower boundary below which CO freezes out onto dust grains (T {approx}< 19 K) and an upper boundary above which CO can be photodissociated (the hydrogen column density from the disk surface is {approx}< 10{sup 21} cm{sup -2}). The freezeout at 19 K leads to a significant drop in the gas-phase CO column density beyond a radius of {approx}155 AU, a 'CO snow line' that we directly resolve. By fitting the abundances of all CO isotopologues, we derive isotopic ratios of {sup 12}C/{sup 13}C, {sup 16}O/{sup 18}O, and {sup 18}O/{sup 17}O that are consistent with quiescent interstellar gas-phase values. This detailed model of the HD 163296 disk demonstrates the potential of a staged, parametric technique for constructing unified gas and dust structure models and constraining the distribution of molecular abundances using resolved multi-transition, multi-isotope observations.

• OSTI ID: 21587364
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 740, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/740/2/84; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ABUNDANCE
ACCRETION DISKS
CARBON 12
CARBON 13
CARBON MONOXIDE
DUSTS
EMISSION
ENERGY SPECTRA
ISOTOPE RATIO
OXYGEN 16
OXYGEN 17
OXYGEN 18
STARS
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON ISOTOPES
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
NUCLEI
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OXYGEN ISOTOPES
SPECTRA
STABLE ISOTOPES