High spatial resolution imaging of SO and H2CO in AB Auriga: the first SO image in a transitional disk

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution imaging to analyze the gas and dust distribution in the AB Auriga transitional disk, revealing chemical and dynamical features that inform planet formation processes.

Contribution

First imaging of SO in a transitional disk, linking sulfur chemistry to high-density gas regions and potential planet formation sites.

Findings

SO molecules are depleted in high-density regions within 0.1 Myr.

Gas density influences SO abundance, serving as a chemical diagnostic.

Dust trap morphology suggests ongoing planet formation processes.

Abstract

Transitional disks are structures of dust and gas around young stars with large inner cavities in which planet formation may occur. Lopsided dust distributions are observed in the dust continuum emission at millimeter wavelengths. These asymmetrical structures can be explained as the result of an enhanced gas density vortex where the dust is trapped potentially promoting the rapid growth to the planetesimal scale. AB Aur hosts a transitional disk with a clear horseshoe morphology which strongly suggests the presence of a dust trap. Our goal is to investigate its formation and the possible effects on the gas chemistry. We used the NOEMA interferometer to image the 1mm continuum dust emission and the 13CO J=2->1, C18O J=2->1, SO J=56->45 and H2CO J=303->202 rotational lines. Line integrated intensity ratio images are built to investigate the chemical changes within the disk. We have used a single point (n,T) chemical model to investigate the lifetime of gaseous CO, H2CO and SO in the dust trap. Our model shows that for densities >10^7 cm^-3, the SO molecules are depleted (directly frozen or converted into SO2 and then frozen out) in less than 0.1 Myr. The lower SO abundance towards the dust trap could indicate that a larger fraction of the gas is in a high density environment. Gas dynamics, grain growth and gas chemistry are coupled in the planet formation process. Because of the strong dependence of SO abundance on the gas density, the sulfur chemistry can be used as a chemical diagnostic to detect the birthsites of future planets. However, the large uncertainties inherent to chemical models and the limited knowledge of the disk physical structure and initial conditions are important drawbacks.