The Empirical and Radiative Transfer Hybrid (EaRTH) Disk Model: Merging Analyses of Protoplanetary Dust Disk Mineralogy and Structure

TL;DR

This paper introduces the EaRTH Disk Model, a hybrid approach combining mineralogical analysis from spectral features with radiative transfer modeling to better understand protoplanetary disks.

Contribution

The novel hybrid model integrates mineralogy detection with radiative transfer simulations, enabling comprehensive analysis of disk composition and structure from mid-infrared spectra.

Findings

Successful initial fit of the model to Spitzer spectra of MP Mus

Revealed dominance of micron-sized olivine and forsterite in the disk

Demonstrated potential for detailed disk analysis with upcoming JWST data

Abstract

Our understanding of how exoplanets form and evolve relies on analyses of both the mineralogy of protoplanetary disks and their detailed structures; however, these key complementary aspects of disks are usually studied separately. We present initial results from a hybrid model that combines the empirical characterization of the mineralogy of a disk, as determined from its mid-infrared spectral features, with the MCFOST radiative transfer disk model, a combination we call the EaRTH Disk Model. With the results of the mineralogy detection serving as input to the radiative transfer model, we generate mid-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) that reflect both the mineralogical and structural parameters of the corresponding disk. Initial fits of the SED output by the resulting integrated model to Spitzer Space T elescope mid-infrared (IRS) spectra of the protoplanetary disk orbiting the nearby T Tauri star MP Mus demonstrate the potential advantages of this approach by revealing details like the dominance of micron-sized olivine and micron-sized forsterite in this dusty disk. The simultaneous insight into disk composition and structure provided by the EaRTH Disk methodology should be directly applicable to the interpretation of mid-infrared spectra of protoplanetary disks that will be produced by the James Webb Space Telescope.