Re-visiting the case of R Mon: Is CO removed at R<20 au?

TL;DR

This study confirms R Mon as a B0 star with a transition disk featuring a 20 au cavity, suggesting UV photoevaporation as the main disk dispersal process in massive stars, based on multi-line observations and modeling.

Contribution

It provides new interferometric and spectroscopic data, confirming the spectral type and revealing a CO-depleted inner region, supporting the transition disk and photoevaporation scenario.

Findings

R Mon is confirmed as a B0 star.

Evidence of a CO-depleted region within 20 au.

Presence of a transition disk with a cavity around 20 au.

Abstract

To our knowledge, R Mon is the only B0 star in which a gaseous Keplerian disk has been detected. However, there is some controversy about the spectral type of R Mon. Some authors propose that it could be a later B8e star, where disks are more common. We have re-evaluated the spectral type of R Mon using the available continuum data and UVES emission lines. We used a power-law disk model to fit previous 12 CO 1-0 and 2-1 interferometric observations and the PACS CO data to investigate the disk structure. Interferometric detections of 13 CO J=1-0, HCO+ 1-0, and CN 1-0 lines using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer (PdBI) are presented. The HCN 1-0 line was not detected. Our analysis confirms that R Mon is a B0 star. The disk model compatible with the 12 CO 1-0 and 2-1 interferometric observations falls short of predicting the observed fluxes of the 14<Ju<31 PACS lines; this is consistent with the scenario in which some contribution to these lines is coming from a warm envelope and/or UV-illuminated outflow walls. More interestingly, the upper limits to the fluxes of the Ju>31 CO lines suggest the existence of a region empty of CO at R<20 au in the proto-planetary disk. The intense emission of the HCO+ and CN lines shows the strong influence of UV photons on gas chemistry. The observations gathered in this paper are consistent with the presence around R Mon of a transition disk with a cavity about 20 au. This size is similar to the photoevaporation radius that supports the interpretation that UV photoevaporation is main disk dispersal mechanism in massive stars