Luke D. Keller, G. C. Sloan, W. J. Forrest, S. Ayala, P. D'Alessio, S. Shah, N. Calvet, J. Najita, A. Li, L. Hartmann, B. Sargent, D. M. Watson, C. H. Chen
We present spectra of a sample of Herbig Ae and Be (HAeBe) stars obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All but one of the Herbig stars show emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and seven of the spectra show PAH emission, but no silicate emission at 10 microns. The central wavelengths of the 6.2, 7.7--8.2, and 11.3 micron emission features decrease with stellar temperature, indicating that the PAHs are less photo-processed in cooler radiation fields. The apparent low level of photo processing in HAeBe stars, relative to other PAH emission sources, implies that the PAHs are newly exposed to the UV-optical radiation fields from their host stars. HAeBe stars show a variety of PAH emission intensities and ionization fractions, but a narrow range of PAH spectral classifications based on positions of major PAH feature centers. This may indicate that, regardless of their locations relative to the stars, the PAH molecules are altered by the same physical processes in the proto-planetary disks of intermediate-mass stars. Analysis of the mid-IR spectral energy distributions indicates that our sample likely includes both radially flared and more flattened/settled disk systems, but we do not see the expected correlation of overall PAH emission with disk geometry. We suggest that the strength of PAH emission from HAeBe stars may depend not only on the degree of radial flaring, but also on the abundance of PAHs in illuminated regions of the disks and possibly on the vertical structure of the inner disk as well.
We present a statistical study of the X-Ray emission toward 22 Herbig AeBe stars using the Chandra archive. We probe the origin of the X-Rays toward Herbig stars: are they intrinsic? This question is addressed by correlations between the physical stellar properties and the X-Ray emission. There is a weak correlation between the continuum radio emission at lambda = 3.6cm and Lx, which suggests that the X-Ray emission depends upon the source. On the other hand, no correlation was found with the stellar rotational period, but that only excludes solar-like magnetic activity as the origin of the X-…
We present the change in the Halpha emission-line profile of the spectra of some AeBe Herbig stars. In the spectrum of VY Mon, Halpha may have one of three profile types: P Cyg, P Cyg III or single line in accordance with the brightness variations of the star. HD259431 now shows a double Halpha profile with the red component stronger than the blue component, while in the earlier observations the blue peak was higher than the red peak. Finally, the last Halpha profile of LkHalpha215 is very similar to that obtained by Finkenzeller et al.
We present the analysis of FUSE observations of two Herbig AeBe stars known to harbor young circumstellar disks: HD 100546 and HD 163296. In both cases we detect absorption lines from warm and dense H2. The thermalization of the rotational levels up to J~4 allows evaluation of the temperature, density and typical size of the absorbing layer. These quantities are consistent with absorption of the light of the central star by a thin layer of a circumstellar disk seen at an intermediate inclination.
We present a parameter study of self-consistent models of protoplanetary disks around Herbig AeBe stars. We use the code developed by Dullemond and Dominik, which solves the 2D radiative transfer problem including an iteration for the vertical hydrostatic structure of the disk. This grid of models will be used for several studies on disk emission and mineralogy in followup papers. In this paper we take a first look on the new models, compare them with previous modeling attempts and focus on the effects of various parameters on the overall structure of the SED that leads to the classification o…
We present 7 mm and 3.5 cm wavelength continuum observations toward the Herbig AeBe star HD169142 performed with the Very Large Array (VLA) with an angular resolution of ~1". We find that this object exhibits strong (~4.4 mJy), unresolved (~1") 7 mm continuum emission, being one of the brightest isolated Herbig AeBe stars ever detected with the VLA at this wavelength. No emission is detected at 3.5 cm continuum, with a 3 sigma upper limit of ~0.08 mJy. From these values, we obtain a spectral index of ~2.5 in the 3.5 cm to 7 mm wavelength range, indicating that the observed flux density at 7mm …
We present spectra of four Herbig AeBe stars obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS). on the Spitzer Space Telescope. All four of the sources show strong emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), with the 6.2 um emission feature shifted to 6.3 um and the strongest C-C skeletal-mode feature occuring at 7.9 um instead of at 7.7 um as is often seen. Remarkably, none of the four stars have silicate emission. The strength of the 7.9 um feature varies with respect to the 11.3 um feature among the sources, indicating that we have observed PAHs with a range of ionization fractions. …
We present a study of the stellar parameters, distances and spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of HD 34282 and HD 141569, two pre-main sequence Herbig AeBe stars. Both objects have been reported to show `anomalous positions' in the HR diagram in the sense that they appear below the main sequence. A significant result of this work is that both stars are metal-deficient. The {\it Hipparcos} distance of HD 34282 is very uncertain and the current study places the star at the expected evolutionary position in the HR diagram, i.e. as a PMS star. The distance for HD 141569 found in this work matche…
We investigate the presence and properties of PAHs on the surface of circumstellar disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars by comparing the predictions of disk models with observations. We present results of a radiation transfer code for disks heated by the central star, in hydrostatic equilibrium in the vertical direction (flared disks). The dust is a mixture of large grains in thermal equilibrium, transiently heated small grains and PAHs. Special attention is given to the influence of the stellar, disk and PAHs properties on the strength of the PAH emission lines and their spatial distribution. The …
We report long-slit spectroscopic observations of the Herbig Ae/Be star Elias 1 in the 3.2-3.6 mum region covering the C-H stretch emission features of hydrogen-terminated diamonds and PAHs. The data were recorded at UKIRT using UIST and yield information on the profiles and intensities of the bands as a function of offset along the N-S and E-W axes centred on the close binary. The diamond and nearby IR continuum emission arises from a symmetrical inner core region (< 0.34 arcsec or 48 AU). The 3.3 mum PAH emission is extended along the E-W axis up to ~ 100 AU each side of the star. This resul…
Herbig Ae/Be stars are a class of young pre-main sequence stellar objects of intermediate mass and are known to have varying amounts of natal cloud material still present in their direct vicinity. We characterise the IR emission bands, due to fluorescence by PAH molecules, in the spectra of Herbig Ae/Be stars and link observed variations to spatial aspects of the mid-IR emission. We analysed two PAH dominated spectra from a sample of 15 Herbig Ae/Be stars observed with Spitzer and derive profiles of the major PAH bands. The shape and the measured band characteristics show pronounced variations…
We present the results of mid-infrared N-band spectroscopy of the Herbig Ae/Be system MWC1080 using the Cooled Mid-Infrared Camera and Spectrometer (COMICS) on board the 8m Subaru Telescope. The MWC1080 has a geometry such that the diffuse nebulous structures surround the central Herbig B0 type star. We focus on the properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and PAH-like species, which are thought to be the carriers of the unidentified infrared (UIR) bands in such environments. A series of UIR bands at 8.6, 11.0, 11.2, and 12.7um is detected throughout the system and we find a clear…
We have investigated the infrared spectra of all 46 Herbig Ae/Be stars for which spectroscopic data is available in the ISO data archive. Our quantitative analysis of these spectra focusses on the emission bands linked to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), the amorphous 10 micron silicate band and the crystalline silicate band at 11.3 micron. We have detected PAH emission in 57% of the Herbig stars in our sample. Clear examples of differences in the PAH spectra are present within our sample, indicating differences in PAH size, chemistry and/or ionization. Amorphous silicate emission was …
Our aim is to determine the presence and location of the emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) towards low and intermediate mass young stars with disks using large aperture telescopes. VLT-VISIR N-band spectra and VLT-ISAAC and VLT-NACO L-band spectra of 29 sources are presented, spectrally resolving the 3.3, 8.6, 11.2, and 12.6 micron PAH features. Spatial-extent profiles of the features and the continuum emission are derived and used to associate the PAH emission with the disks. The results are discussed in the context of recent PAH-emission disk models. The 3.3, 8.6, and 11.…
We present adaptive optics high angular resolution ($\sim0.1\arcsec$) spectroscopic observations in the 3 \um region of eight well known Herbig Ae/Be stars with circumstellar disks. We detect the aromatic emission feature at 3.3 \um for four out of six of our objects with flared disks (HD 169142, HD 97048, HD 100453, HD 100546), some weaker additional features at 3.4 and 3.46 $μ$m and nanodiamond features at 3.43 and 3.53 \um in two of our flared object (HD 100546 and HD 97048 respectively). We also detect hydrogen recombination line at 3.74 \um in practically all objects. The emission in the …
Aims: We search for PAH features towards T Tauri stars and compare them with surveys of Herbig Ae/Be stars. The presence and strength of the PAH features are interpreted with disk radiative transfer models exploring the PAH feature dependence on the incident UV radiation, PAH abundance and disk parameters. Methods: Spitzer Space Telescope 5-35 micron spectra of 54 pre-main sequence stars with disks were obtained, consisting of 38 T Tauri, 7 Herbig Ae/Be and 9 stars with unknown spectral type. Results: Compact PAH emission is detected towards at least 8 sources of which 5 are Herbig Ae/Be stars…
Aims. The chemistry of, and infrared (IR) emission from, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in disks around Herbig Ae/Be and T Tauri stars are investigated. The equilibrium distribution of the PAHs over all accessible charge/hydrogenation states depends on the size and shape of the PAHs and on the physical properties of the star and surrounding disk. Methods. A chemistry model is created to calculate this equilibrium distribution. Destruction of PAHs by ultraviolet (UV) photons, possibly in multi-photon absorption events, is taken into account. The chemistry model is coupled to a radiativ…
Using the HiVIS spectropolarimeter built for the Haleakala 3.7m AEOS telescope, we have obtained a large number of high precision spectropolarimetrc observations (284) of Herbig AeBe stars collected over 53 nights totaling more than 300 hours of observing. Our sample of five HAeBe stars: AB Aurigae, MWC480, MWC120, MWC158 and HD58647, all show systematic variations in the linear polarization amplitude and direction as a function of time and wavelength near the H-alpha line. In all our stars, the H-alpha line profiles show evidence of an intervening disk or outflowing wind, evidenced by strong …
Using data from the EROS2 microlensing survey, we report the discovery of two blue objects with irregular photometric behaviour of $ΔV \sim 0.1$-0.4 mag on time scales of 20 to 200 days. They show a bluer when fainter behaviour. Subsequent spectra taken with the ESO 3.6m telescope show spectral type B4eIII and B2eIV-V with strong $H α$ emission. These objects resemble the Herbig AeBe but also classical Be stars. At this stage, it is not possible to distinguish unambiguously between pre-main sequence and classical Be nature. If we favour the pre-main sequence interpretation, they are more lumin…
We present preliminary results of spectroscopic data obtained with the La Silla 3.6m TIMMI2 and the VLT-ISAAC instruments. We have obtained 23 TIMMI2 N-band and 18 Q-band spectra for our total sample of 36 stars in March 2003 to investigate the evolution of the grain properties in circumstellar disks. Our sample consists of Herbig stars, T Tauri stars and Vega-like stars, some of which have recently been identified to be members of nearby (<100 pc) stellar associations. Silicate and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features are detected and the spatial resolution of TIMMI2 allowe…
Aims: Today, large ground-based instruments, like VISIR on the VLT, providing diffraction-limited (about 0.3 arcsec) images in the mid-infrared where strong PAH features appear enable us to see the flaring structure of the disks around Herbig Ae stars. Although great progress has been made in modelling the disk with radiative transfer models able to reproduce the spectral energy distribution (SED) of Herbig Ae stars, the constraints brought by images have not been yet fully exploited. Here, we are interested in checking if these new observational imaging constraints can be accounted for by pre…
We report on initial results of our Spitzer Cycle 2 program to observe the young massive star R Mon and its associated HH 39 Herbig-Haro object in the mid-infrared. Our program used all instruments on-board Spitzer to obtain deep images with IRAC of the HH 39 complex and of R Mon and its surroundings, a deep image of HH 39 at 24 and 70 $μ$m with MIPS, and mid-infrared spectra with the SH, LH, and LL modules of IRS. The aim of this program is to study the physical links in a young massive star between accretion disk, outflows and jets, and sh ocks in the associated HH object. Our preliminary an…
We present Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) spectra of fourteen isolated Herbig Ae/Be (HAEBE) stars, to study the characteristics of their circumstellar dust. These spectra show large star-to-star differences, in the emission features of both carbon-rich and oxygen-rich dust grains. The IR spectra were combined with photometric data ranging from the UV through the optical into the sub-mm region. We defined two key groups, based upon the spectral shape of the infrared region. The derived results can be summarized as follows: (1) the continuum of the IR to sub-mm region of all stars can be recon…
We have carried out a survey of 60 Herbig Ae/Be stars in the 3 micron wavelength region in search for the rare spectral features at 3.43 and 3.53 micron. These features have been attributed to the presence of large, hot, hydrogen-terminated nanodiamonds. Only two Herbig Ae/Be stars, HD 97048 and Elias 3-1 are known to display both these features. We have obtained medium-resolution spectra (R ~2500) with the ESO near-IR instrument ISAAC in the 3.15-3.65 micron range. In our sample, no new examples of sources with prominent nanodiamond features in their 3 micron spectra were discovered (detectio…
An analysis of solid-state features in infrared spectra of 46 Herbig Ae/Be stars is presented. The presence of solid-state emission bands is compared to other indicators of circumstellar material, such as Halpha emission, optical variability and sub-mm continuum fluxes. The correlation between these different indicators is weak, if present at all, in our sample. However, a strong dependence on spectral type of the central star seems to be present: stars with spectral type earlier than B9 show either amorphous silicate in absorption or infrared spectra dominated by PAH emission, whereas more th…
Recent spectropolarimetric observations of Herbig AeBe stellar systems show linear polarization variability with wavelength and epoch near their obscured H-alpha emission. Surprisingly, this polarization is not coincident with the H-alpha emission peak but is variable near the absorptive part of the line profile. With a new and novel model we show here that this is evidence of optical pumping - anisotropy of the incident radiation that leads to a linear polarization-dependent optical depth within the intervening hydrogen wind or disk cloud. This effect can yield a larger polarization signal th…
We construct a protostellar disk model that takes into account the combined effect of viscous evolution, photoevaporation and the differential radial motion of dust grains and gas. For T Tauri disks, the lifetimes of dust disks that are mainly composed of millimeter sized grains are always shorter than the gas disks' lifetimes, and become similar only when the grains are fluffy (density < 0.1 g cm^{-3}). If grain growth during the classical T Tauri phase produces plenty of millimeter sized grains, such grains completely accrete onto the star in 10^7 yr, before photoevaporation begins to drain …
We present a new mode of observations with VISIR, the mid-InfraRed (mid-IR) imager and spectrometer on the VLT (ESO, Chile): the so-called BURST mode. This mode allows to reach the diffraction limit of the telescope. To illustrate results obtained with this mode, we discuss observations of disks around Herbig Ae stars. These stars are the more massive analogues of T Tauri stars and are believed to harbour circumstellar disks. The 10-20 microns atmospheric windows are well-suited to study the extended emission of these objects. With a 8 m class telescope, in fair seeing conditions, the observat…
We present spatially resolved 3 um spectra of Elias 1 obtained with an adaptive optics system. The central part of the disk is almost devoid of PAH emission at 3.3 um; it shows up only at 30 AU and beyond. The PAH emission extends up to 100 AU, at least to the outer boundary of our observation. The diamond emission, in contrast, is more centrally concentrated, with the column density peaked around 30 AU from the star. There are only three Herbig Ae/Be stars known to date that show diamond emission at 3.53 um. Two of them have low-mass companions likely responsible for the large X-ray flares ob…
PAHs have been detected toward molecular clouds and some young stars with disks, but have not yet been associated with embedded young stars. We present a sensitive mid-IR spectroscopic survey of PAH features toward a sample of low-mass embedded YSOs. The aim is to put constraints on the PAH abundance in the embedded phase of star formation using radiative transfer modeling. VLT-ISAAC L-band spectra for 39 sources and Spitzer IRS spectra for 53 sources are presented. Line intensities are compared to recent surveys of Herbig Ae/Be and T Tauri stars. The radiative transfer codes RADMC and RADICAL…
Aims: To calculate chemistry and gas temperature of evolving protoplanetary disks with decreasing mass or dust settling, and to explore the sensitivity of gas-phase tracers. Methods: The density and dust temperature profiles for a range of models of flaring and self-shadowed disks around a typical Herbig Ae star are used together with 2-dimensional ultraviolet (UV) radiative transfer to calculate the chemistry and gas temperature. In each model the line profiles and intensities for the fine structure lines of [O I], [C II] and [C I] and the pure rotational lines of CO, CN, HCN and HCO+ are det…
WL16 is a unique member of the embedded young stellar population in the nearby rho Ophiuchi cloud core: its extended (900 AU diameter), high surface brightness disk is visible only at mid-infrared wavelengths. We present diffraction-limited (~ 0.3 arcsec) images, from 7.9 to 24.5 microns, of WL16 acquired at the Keck II telescope. We find the central star to be a 250 Lsun, 4 Msun, Herbig Ae star, seen through foreground material of the rho Oph cloud core that provides an extinction of Av=31+/-1 magnitudes. WL16's disk is detected through all nine observed passbands. We confirm, therefore, that…
The unidentified infrared bands (UIBs) have been observed in virtually every dusty astrophysical environment investigated. The UIB carrier must be abundant and ubiquitous. Strong evidence points to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as likely candidates, but the identification is not complete. Additional diagnostics are needed to further constrain the UIB carrier, such as probing excitation sources which range from UV-strong to UV-weak, in order to determine the ``band gap'' of the UIB carrier. Observations and models suggest that the UIBs can be found in sources with weak UV fields. To t…
From medium-resolution radio images, DR 16 was suspected to be a large cometary nebula. To test this suggestion we obtained a higher resolution (15\arcsec) VLA continuum map. We also analyzed data from the Canadian Galactic Plane Survey in continuum, H I line, and IR. These data were supplemented by published near-infrared (J, H, K) stellar photometric results and MSX 8.28 micrometer data. We suggest that DR 16 is the diffuse H II region of an ongoing star formation site at a distance of about 3 kpc. The complicated radio picture arises from the superposition of diffuse H II with the remains o…
We discuss the properties of several circumstellar debris disk systems imaged with the Hubble Space Telescope's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer in a survey of young stars with known far-IR excesses. These dusty disks around young ($\sim$ 5--8 Myr) unembedded stars exhibit morphological anisotropies and other characteristics which are suggestive of recent or on-going planet formation. We consider evidence for the evolution of populations of collisionally produced disk grains in light of the significant presence of remnant primordial gas in the optically thick disk of the clas…
In order to study the X-ray properties of young stellar objects (YSOs), we analyze an exceptionally sensitive Chandra dataset of the Coronet cluster in the CrA star-forming region, achieving a limiting luminosity of LXmin=5E26 erg/sec for lightly absorbed sources. This dataset represents one of the most sensitive X-ray observations ever obtained of a star-forming region. The X-ray data are used to investigate the membership status of tentative members of the region, to derive plasma temperatures and X-ray luminosities of the YSOs, and to investigate variability on the timescale of several year…
We have obtained Spitzer Space Telescope IRS 5.5 - 35 micron spectra of 59 main sequence stars that possess IRAS 60 micron excess. The spectra of five objects possess spectral features that are well-modeled using micron-sized grains and silicates with crystalline mass fractions 0% - 80%, consistent with T-Tauri and Herbig AeBe stars. With the exception of eta Crv, these objects are young with ages <50 Myr. The spectra for the majority of objects are featureless, suggesting that the emitting grains probably have radii a > 10 micron. We have modeled the excess continua using a continuous disk wi…
We report the discovery of quiescent emission from molecular hydrogen gas located in the circumstellar disks of six pre-main sequence stars, including two weak-line T Tauri stars (TTS), and one Herbig AeBe star, in the Chamaeleon I star forming region. For two of these stars, we also place upper limits on the 2->1 S(1)/1->0 S(1) line ratios of 0.4 and 0.5. Of the 11 pre-main sequence sources now known to be sources of quiescent near-infrared hydrogen emission, four possess transitional disks, which suggests that detectable levels of H$_2$ emission and the presence of inner disk holes are corre…
In the high density environments of circumstellar disks dust grains are expected to grow to large sizes by coagulation. Somewhat unexpectedly, recent near-IR observations of PAH features from disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars demonstrate that substantial amount of dust mass in these disks (up to several tens of per cent of the total carbon content) can be locked up in particles with sizes ranging from several to tens of nanometers. We investigate the possibility of detecting the electric dipole emission produced by these nanoparticles as they spin at thermal rates (tens of GHz) in cold gas. We s…
We present the Spitzer IRS spectra for 33 young stars in Tr 37 and NGC 7160. The sample includes the high- and intermediate-mass stars with MIPS 24 microns excess, the only known active accretor in the 12 Myr-old cluster NGC 7160, and 19 low-mass stars with disks in the 4 Myr-old cluster Tr 37. We examine the 10 microns silicate feature, present in the whole sample of low-mass star and in 3 of the high- and intermediate-mass targets, and we find that PAH emission is detectable only in the Herbig Be star. We analyze the composition and size of the warm photospheric silicate grains by fitting th…
We present infrared and radio continuum observations of S 201 star forming region. A massive star cluster is observed in this region, which contains different classes of young stellar objects. The near-infrared colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams are studied to discuss the nature of these sources. We have discovered the knots of molecular hydrogen emission at 2.122 micron in the central region of S 201. These knots are clearly seen along the diffuse emission in north-west direction which are probably the obscured Herbig-Haro objects. High sensitivity and high resolution radio continuum…
