Impact of photoevaporative winds in chemical models of externally irradiated protoplanetary disks

TL;DR

This study investigates how photoevaporative winds affect the chemistry and observational signatures of protoplanetary disks exposed to external UV radiation, highlighting the importance of including winds in models for accurate interpretation.

Contribution

It introduces the first detailed analysis of the impact of photoevaporative winds on disk chemistry using combined radiation hydrodynamics and thermochemical modeling.

Findings

Winds enhance disk heating and alter chemical abundances.

Synthetic line fluxes differ significantly with wind presence.

Wind emission dominates observational signatures.

Abstract

Most stars form in dense clusters within high-mass star-forming regions, where protoplanetary disks may be exposed to intense UV radiation from nearby massive stars. While previous studies have typically focused on isolated sources in low-mass regions, recent observational campaigns have started to probe the chemistry of irradiated disks in unprecedented detail. Interpreting this data requires complex chemical models, yet few studies have examined these disks' chemistry, and none have incorporated the photoevaporative wind launched by external UV fields into their physical structure. In this study, we post-process radiation hydrodynamics simulations of externally irradiated protoplanetary disks using the thermochemical code DALI, comparing models with and without the wind to assess its impact on disk chemistry. Results show that UV radiation is rapidly attenuated by the disk in both cases. However, thermal re-emission from the wind at longer wavelengths enhances disk heating, increasing the gas-phase abundances of some key volatiles. Synthetic line fluxes vary by orders of magnitude between wind and windless models, primarily due to emission from the wind itself rather than abundance variations within the disk. Our findings demonstrate that the photoevaporative wind significantly influences the physical and chemical structure, and observational characteristics, of externally irradiated disks. We conclude that incorporating the wind into chemical models is essential for accurately predicting chemical abundances, interpreting observations, and ultimately understanding planet formation in these common yet complex environments.