Exploration of the molecular gas content of young debris disks

Abstract

AbstractThanks especially to the ALMA interferometer, there are several new detections of CO gas in debris disks. Based on our own and archival ALMA observations, we found that the presence of CO gas in dust-rich debris disks around young (10–50 Myr) A-type stars is common. Interestingly, similarly dust-rich debris disks around young F-K type stars exhibit significantly lower gas incidence. The main difference between the two subsamples is related to a special population of gaseous debris disks whose total CO gas quantity is comparable to that of the less massive Herbig Ae disks. The origin of gas in these CO-rich debris systems is not fully clarified yet.