Herschel/PACS Survey of protoplanetary disks in Taurus/Auriga -- Observations of [OI] and [CII], and far infrared continuum

TL;DR

This study uses Herschel/PACS observations of ~120 Taurus pre-main-sequence stars to analyze gas and dust emission, revealing correlations between line and continuum emissions, and distinguishing between disk and outflow sources.

Contribution

It provides the first comprehensive far-infrared survey of protoplanetary disks in Taurus, identifying emission origins and differences among disk types.

Findings

[OI] 63 μm line correlates with continuum in disks

Outflow sources show much stronger line emission

[CII] 158 μm detected mainly in outflows

Abstract

The Herschel Space Observatory was used to observe ~ 120 pre-main-sequence stars in Taurus as part of the GASPS Open Time Key project. PACS was used to measure the continuum as well as several gas tracers such as [OI] 63 \mu m, [OI] 145 \mu m, [CII] 158 \mu m, OH, H2O and CO. The strongest line seen is [OI] at 63 \mu m. We find a clear correlation between the strength of the [OI] 63 \mu m line and the 63 \mu m continuum for disk sources. In outflow sources, the line emission can be up to 20 times stronger than in disk sources, suggesting that the line emission is dominated by the outflow. The tight correlation seen for disk sources suggests that the emission arises from the inner disk ($<$ 50 AU) and lower surface layers of the disk where the gas and dust are coupled. The [OI] 63 \mu m is fainter in transitional stars than in normal Class II disks. Simple SED models indicate that the dust responsible for the continuum emission is colder in these disks, leading to weaker line emission. [CII] 158 \mu m emission is only detected in strong outflow sources. The observed line ratios of [OI] 63 \mu m to [OI] 145 \mu m are in the regime where we are insensitive to the gas-to-dust ratio, neither can we discriminate between shock or PDR emission. We detect no Class III object in [OI] 63 \mu m and only three in continuum, at least one of which is a candidate debris disk.