Effect of time-varying X-ray emission from stellar flares on the ionization of protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

This study models the time-varying X-ray spectra from stellar flares to assess their impact on ionization in protoplanetary disks, revealing that flares significantly enhance ionization rates, especially at the disk midplane, influencing disk evolution.

Contribution

Developed a new model of stellar flare X-ray spectra based on observations and flare theories, improving predictions of hard X-ray flux and their effects on disk ionization.

Findings

Flare X-rays with >5 keV increase ionization rates more than cosmic rays.

Ionization contribution depends on disk parameters like mass and dust settling.

Multiple flares over 10 years can significantly affect disk ionization.

Abstract

X-rays have significant impacts on cold, weakly ionized protoplanetary disks by increasing the ionization rate and driving chemical reactions. Stellar flares are explosions that emit intense X-rays and are the unique source of hard X-rays with an energy of $\gtrsim10$ keV in the protoplanetary disk systems. Hard X-rays should be carefully taken into account in models as they can reach the disk midplane as a result of scattering in the disk atmospheres. However, previous models are insufficient to predict the hard X-ray spectra because of simplifications in flare models. We develop a model of X-ray spectra of stellar flares based on observations and flare theories. The flare temperature and nonthermal electron emissions are modeled as functions of flare energy, which allows us to better predict the hard X-ray photon flux than before. Using our X-ray model, we conduct radiative transfer calculations to investigate the impact of flare hard X-rays on disk ionization, with a particular focus on the protoplanetary disk around a T Tauri star. We demonstrate that for a flare with an energy of $ 10^{35}$ erg, X-ray photons with $\gtrsim 5$ keV increase the ionization rates more than galactic cosmic rays down to $z \approx 0.1R$. The contribution of flare X-rays to the ionization at the midplane depends on the disk parameters such as disk mass and dust settling. We also find that the 10-year-averaged X-rays from multiple flares could certainly contribute to the ionization. These results emphasize the importance of stellar flares on the disk evolution.