Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon in Protoplanetary Disks around Herbig Ae/Be and T Tauri Stars

TL;DR

This study models PAH emission features in protoplanetary disks around young stars, revealing correlations between PAH sizes and stellar properties, and suggesting ongoing replenishment of PAHs in these environments.

Contribution

It provides detailed modeling of PAH properties in 69 protoplanetary disks, linking PAH size and ionization to stellar temperature and age, and highlights the importance of replenishment mechanisms.

Findings

PAH size correlates with stellar effective temperature.

PAH ionization fraction shows no clear correlation with stellar parameters.

Small PAHs are likely replenished through outgassing and collisional processes.

Abstract

A distinct set of broad emission features at 3.3, 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, 11.3, and 12.7 $\mu$m, is often detected in protoplanetary disks (PPDs). These features are commonly attributed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We model these emission features in the infrared spectra of 69 PPDs around 14 T Tauri and 55 Herbig Ae/Be stars in terms of astronomical-PAHs. For each PPD, we derive the size distribution and the charge state of PAHs. We then examine the correlations of the PAH properties (i.e., sizes and ionization fractions) with the stellar properties (e.g., stellar effective temperature, luminosity, and mass). We find that the characteristic size of PAHs shows a tendency of correlating with the stellar effective temperature ($T_{\rm eff}$) and interpret this as the preferential photodissociation of small PAHs in systems with higher $T_{\rm eff}$ of which the stellar photons are more energetic. In addition, the PAH size shows a moderate correlation with the red-ward wavelength-shift of the 7.7 $\mu$m PAH feature that is commonly observed in disks around cool stars. The ionization fraction of PAHs does not seem to correlate with any stellar parameters. This is because the charging of PAHs depends on not only the stellar properties (e.g., $T_{\rm eff}$, luminosity) but also the spatial distribution of PAHs in the disks. The mere negative correlation between the PAH size and the stellar age suggests that continuous replenishment of PAHs via the outgassing of cometary bodies and/or the collisional grinding of planetesimals and asteroids is required to maintain the abundance of small PAHs against complete destruction by photodissociation.