Molecules in the Circumstellar Disk Orbiting BP Piscium
Joel H. Kastner (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Grenoble, Rochester, Institute of Technology), B. Zuckerman (UCLA), Thierry Forveille (Laboratoire, d'Astrophysique de Grenoble)

TL;DR
This study presents a molecular line survey of BP Psc's circumstellar disk, revealing a Keplerian disk with low gas mass and unusual molecular emissions, suggesting an evolved star with a history of interaction with a close companion.
Contribution
First detailed molecular line survey of BP Psc's disk, indicating its evolved star status and unique molecular composition compared to pre-main sequence stars.
Findings
Disk in Keplerian rotation with ~0.1 Jupiter masses of gas
Weak HCO+ and CN emissions suggest low ionization levels
Molecular composition differs from typical pre-main sequence star disks
Abstract
BP Psc is a puzzling late-type, emission-line field star with large infrared excess. The star is encircled and enshrouded by a nearly edge-on, dust circumstellar disk, and displays an extensive jet system similar to those associated with pre-main sequence (pre-MS) stars. We conducted a mm-wave molecular line survey of BP Psc with the 30 m telescope of the Institut de Radio Astronomie Millimetrique (IRAM). We detected lines of 12CO and 13CO and, possibly, very weak emission from HCO+ and CN; HCN, H2CO, and SiO are not detected. The CO line profiles of BP Psc are well fit by a model invoking a disk in Keplerian rotation. The mimumum disk gas mass, inferred from the 12CO line intensity and 13CO/12CO line ratio, is ~0.1 Jupiter masses. The weakness of HCO+ and CN (relative to 13CO) stands in sharp contrast to the strong HCO+ and CN emission that characterizes most low-mass, pre-main…
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