UV-controlled physical and chemical structure of protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

This paper investigates how UV radiation transfer, dust growth, and sedimentation influence the physical and chemical structure of protoplanetary disks, affecting molecular photoreaction rates.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of UV transfer considering dust evolution, highlighting its impact on disk density, temperature, and molecular chemistry.

Findings

Dust growth and sedimentation alter UV penetration depth.

Dust evolution significantly affects molecular photoreaction rates.

The study provides insights into disk physical and chemical structure changes.

Abstract

We study details of the UV radiation transfer in a protoplanetary disk, paying attention to the influence of dust growth and sedimentation on the disk density and temperature. Also, we show how the dust evolution affects photoreaction rates of key molecules, like CN and CS.