Chemistry in the GG Tau A Disk: Constraints from H2D+, N2H+, and DCO+ High Angular Resolution ALMA Observations

TL;DR

This study uses high-resolution ALMA observations to analyze cold molecular chemistry in the GG Tau A protoplanetary disk, revealing the influence of cosmic rays and temperature constraints on molecular abundances.

Contribution

First detailed high-resolution mapping of N2H+ and DCO+ in GG Tau A, with modeling of cosmic ray effects and temperature constraints in a protoplanetary disk.

Findings

N2H+ peaks near the outer ring edge

DCO+ shows double peaks in the disk

Low cosmic ray ionization rate best fits the data

Abstract

Resolved molecular line observations are essential for gaining insight into the physical and chemical structure of protoplanetary disks, particularly in cold, dense regions where planets form and acquire their chemical compositions. However, tracing these regions is challenging because most molecules freeze onto grain surfaces and are not observable in the gas phase. We investigated cold molecular chemistry in the triple stellar T Tauri disk GG Tau A, which harbours a massive gas and dust ring and an outer disk, using ALMA Band 7 observations. We present high angular resolution maps of N2H+ and DCO+ emission, with upper limits reported for H2D+, 13CS, and SO2. The radial intensity profile of N2H+ shows most emission near the ring outer edge, while DCO+ exhibits double peaks, one near the ring inner edge and the other in the outer disk. With complementary observations of lower-lying transitions, we constrained the molecular surface densities and rotation temperatures. We compared the derived quantities with model predictions across different cosmic ray ionization (CRI) rates, carbon-to-oxygen (C/O) ratios, and stellar UV fluxes. Cold molecular chemistry, affecting N2H+, DCO+, and H2D+ abundances, is most sensitive to CRI rates, while stellar UV flux and C/O ratios have minimal impact on these three ions. Our best model requires a low cosmic ray ionization rate of 1e-18 s-1. However, it fails to match the low temperatures derived from N2H+ and DCO+, 12 to 16 K, which are much lower than the CO freezing temperature.