Disk Surface Layers Research Articles

The nature of the 2014–2015 dim state of RW Aurigae revealed by X-ray, optical, and near-IR observations

The binary system RW Aur consists of two classical T~Tauri stars (CTTSs). The primary recently underwent its second observed major dimming event ($\Delta V\,\sim2\,$mag). We present new, resolved Chandra X-ray and UKIRT near-IR (NIR) data as well as unresolved optical photometry obtained in the dim state to study the gas and dust content of the absorber causing the dimming. The X-ray data show that the absorbing column density increased from $N_H<0.1\times10^{22}\,$cm$^{-2}$ during the bright state to $\approx2\times10^{22}\,$cm$^{-2}$ in the dim state. The brightness ratio between dim and bright state at optical to NIR wavelengths shows only a moderate wavelength dependence and the NIR color-color diagram suggests no substantial reddening. Taken together, this indicates gray absorption by large grains ($\gtrsim1\,\mu$m) with a dust mass column density of $\gtrsim2\times10^{-4}\,$g$\,$cm$^{-2}$. Comparison with $N_H$ shows that an absorber responsible for the optical/NIR dimming and the X-ray absorption is compatible with the ISM's gas-to-dust ratio, i.e., that grains grow in the disk surface layers without largely altering the gas-to-dust ratio. Lastly, we discuss a scenario in which a common mechanism can explain the long-lasting dimming in RW Aur and recently in AA Tau.

OUTWARD MOTION OF POROUS DUST AGGREGATES BY STELLAR RADIATION PRESSURE IN PROTOPLANETARY DISKS

We study the dust motion at the surface layer of protoplanetary disks. Dust grains in surface layer migrate outward due to angular momentum transport via gas-drag force induced by the stellar radiation pressure. In this study, we calculate mass flux of the outward motion of compact grains and porous dust aggregates by the radiation pressure. The radiation pressure force for porous dust aggregates is calculated using the T-Matrix Method for the Clusters of Spheres. First, we confirm that porous dust aggregates are forced by strong radiation pressure even if they grow to be larger aggregates in contrast to homogeneous and spherical compact grains to which efficiency of radiation pressure becomes lower when their sizes increase. In addition, we find that the outward mass flux of porous dust aggregates with monomer size of 0.1 $\mu$m is larger than that of compact grains by an order of magnitude at the disk radius of 1 AU, when their sizes are several microns. This implies that large compact grains like calcium-aluminum rich inclusions (CAIs) are hardly transported to outer region by stellar radiation pressure, whereas porous dust aggregates like chondritic-porous interplanetary dust particles (CP-IDPs) are efficiently transported to comet formation region. Crystalline silicates are possibly transported in porous dust aggregates by stellar radiation pressure from inner hot region to outer cold cometary region in the protosolar nebula.

Ionization and heating by X-rays and cosmic rays

High-energy radiation from the central T Tauri and protostars plays an impor- tant role in shaping protoplanetary disks and influences their evolution. Such radiation, in particular X-rays and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) radiation, is predominantly generated in unstable stellar magnetic fields (e.g., the stellar corona), but also in accretion hot spots. Even jets may produce X-ray emission. Cosmic rays, i.e., high-energy particles either from the interstellar space or from the star itself, are of crucial importance. Both high- energy photons and particles ionize disk gas and lead to heating. Ionization and heating subsequently drive chemical networks, and the products of these processes are accessi- ble through observations of molecular line emission. Furthermore, ionization supports the magnetorotational instability and therefore drives disk accretion, while heating of the disk surface layers induces photoevaporative flows. Both processes are crucial for the dispersal of protoplanetary disks and therefore critical for the time scales of planet for- mation. This chapter introduces the basic physics of ionization and heating starting from a quantum mechanical viewpoint, then discusses relevant processes in astrophysical gases and their applications to protoplanetary disks, and finally summarizes some properties of the most important high-energy sources for protoplanetary disks.

ON THE VIABILITY OF THE MAGNETOROTATIONAL INSTABILITY IN CIRCUMPLANETARY DISKS

We examine whether the magnetorotational instability (MRI) can serve as a mechanism of angular momentum transport in circumplanetary disks. For the MRI to operate the ionization degree must be sufficiently high and the magnetic pressure must be sufficiently lower than the gas pressure. We calculate the spatial distribution of the ionization degree and search for the MRI-active region where the two criteria are met. We find that there can be thin active layers at the disk surface depending on the model parameters, however, we find hardly any region which can sustain well-developed MRI turbulence; when the magnetic field is enhanced by MRI turbulence at the disk surface layer, a magnetically dominated atmosphere encroaches on a lower altitude and a region of well-developed MRI turbulence becomes smaller. We conclude that if there are no angular momentum transfer mechanisms other than MRI in gravitationally stable circumplanetary disks, gas is likely to pile up until disks become gravitationally unstable, and massive disks may survive for a long time.

Small vs. large dust grains in transitional disks: do different cavity sizes indicate a planet?

Transitional disks represent a short stage of the evolution of circumstellar material. Studies of dust grains in these objects can provide pivotal information on the mechanisms of planet formation. Dissimilarities in the spatial distribution of small (micron-size) and large (millimeter-size) dust grains have recently been pointed out. Constraints on the small dust grains can be obtained by imaging the distribution of scattered light at near-infrared wavelengths. We aim at resolving structures in the surface layer of transitional disks (with particular emphasis on the inner 10 - 50 AU), thus increasing the scarce sample of high resolution images of these objects. We obtained VLT/NACO near-IR high-resolution polarimetric differential imaging observations of SAO 206462 (HD135344B). This technique allows one to image the polarized scattered light from the disk without any occulting mask and to reach an inner working angle of 0.1''. A face-on disk is detected in H and Ks bands between 0.1'' and 0.9''. No significant differences are seen between the H and Ks images. In addition to the spiral arms, these new data allow us to resolve for the first time an inner cavity for small dust grains. The cavity size (about 28 AU) is much smaller than what is inferred for large dust grains from (sub)mm observations (39 to 50 AU). The interaction between the disk and potential orbiting companion(s) can explain both the spiral arm structure and the discrepant cavity sizes for small and large dust grains. One planet may be carving out the gas (and, thus, the small grains) at 28 AU, and generating a pressure bump at larger radii (39 AU), which holds back the large grains. We analytically estimate that, in this scenario, a single giant planet (with a mass between 5 and 15 Jupiter masses) at 17 to 20 AU from the star is consistent with the observed cavity sizes.

HERSCHEL/PACS SURVEY OF PROTOPLANETARY DISKS IN TAURUS/AURIGA—OBSERVATIONS OF [O I] AND [C II], AND FAR-INFRARED CONTINUUM

The Herschel Space Observatory was used to observe ~ 120 pre-main-sequence stars in Taurus as part of the GASPS Open Time Key project. PACS was used to measure the continuum as well as several gas tracers such as [OI] 63 \mu m, [OI] 145 \mu m, [CII] 158 \mu m, OH, H2O and CO. The strongest line seen is [OI] at 63 \mu m. We find a clear correlation between the strength of the [OI] 63 \mu m line and the 63 \mu m continuum for disk sources. In outflow sources, the line emission can be up to 20 times stronger than in disk sources, suggesting that the line emission is dominated by the outflow. The tight correlation seen for disk sources suggests that the emission arises from the inner disk ($<$ 50 AU) and lower surface layers of the disk where the gas and dust are coupled. The [OI] 63 \mu m is fainter in transitional stars than in normal Class II disks. Simple SED models indicate that the dust responsible for the continuum emission is colder in these disks, leading to weaker line emission. [CII] 158 \mu m emission is only detected in strong outflow sources. The observed line ratios of [OI] 63 \mu m to [OI] 145 \mu m are in the regime where we are insensitive to the gas-to-dust ratio, neither can we discriminate between shock or PDR emission. We detect no Class III object in [OI] 63 \mu m and only three in continuum, at least one of which is a candidate debris disk.

EFFECTS OF LOCAL DISSIPATION PROFILES ON MAGNETIZED ACCRETION DISK SPECTRA

We present spectral calculations of non-LTE accretion disk models appropriate for high-luminosity stellar mass black hole X-ray binary systems. We first use a dissipation profile based on scaling the results of shearing box simulations of Hirose et al. to a range of annuli parameters. We simultaneously scale the effective temperature, orbital frequency, and surface density with luminosity and radius according to the standard α-model. This naturally brings increased dissipation to the disk surface layers (around the photospheres) at small radii and high luminosities. We find that the local spectrum transitions directly from a modified blackbody to a saturated Compton scattering spectrum as we increase the effective temperature and orbital frequency while decreasing midplane surface density. Next, we construct annuli models based on the parameters of a L/LEdd = 0.8 disk orbiting a 6.62 solar mass black hole using two modified dissipation profiles that explicitly put more dissipation per unit mass near the disk surface. The new dissipation profiles are qualitatively similar to the one found by Hirose et al., but produce strong near power-law spectral tails. Our models also include physically motivated magnetic acceleration support based once again on scaling the Hirose et al. results. We present three full-disk spectra, each based on one of the dissipation prescriptions. Our most aggressive dissipation profile results in a disk spectrum that is in approximate quantitative agreement with certain observations of the steep power-law spectral states from some black hole X-ray binaries.

MATRYOSHKA HOLES: NESTED EMISSION RINGS IN THE TRANSITIONAL DISK OPH IRS 48

The processes that form transition disks - disks with depleted inner regions - are not well understood; possible scenarios include planet formation, grain growth and photoevaporation. Disks with spatially resolved dust holes are rare, but, in general, even less is known about the gas structure. The disk surrounding A0 star Oph IRS 48 in the nearby Rho Ophiuchus region has a 30 AU radius hole previously detected in the 18.7 micron dust continuum and in warm CO in the 5 micron fundamental ro-vibrational band. We present here Submillimeter Array 880 micron continuum imaging resolving an inner hole. However, the radius of the hole in the millimeter dust is only 13 AU, significantly smaller than measured at other wavelengths. The nesting structure of the disk is counter-intuitive, with increasingly large radii rings of emission seen in the millimeter dust (12.9 +1.7/-3.4 AU), 5 micron CO (30 AU) and 18.7 micron dust (peaking at 55 AU). We discuss possible explanations for this structure, including self-shadowing that cools the disk surface layers, photodissociation of CO, and photoevaporation. However, understanding this unusual disk within the stringent multi-wavelength spatial constraints will require further observations to search for cold atomic and molecular gas.

VERTICAL STRUCTURE OF STATIONARY ACCRETION DISKS WITH A LARGE-SCALE MAGNETIC FIELD

In earlier works we pointed out that the disk's surface layers are non-turbulent and thus highly conducting (or non-diffusive) because the hydrodynamic and/or magnetorotational (MRI) instabilities are suppressed high in the disk where the magnetic and radiation pressures are larger than the plasma thermal pressure. Here, we calculate the vertical profiles of the {\it stationary} accretion flows (with radial and azimuthal components), and the profiles of the large-scale, magnetic field taking into account the turbulent viscosity and diffusivity and the fact that the turbulence vanishes at the surface of the disk. Also, here we require that the radial accretion speed be zero at the disk's surface and we assume that the ratio of the turbulent viscosity to the turbulent magnetic diffusivity is of order unity. Thus at the disk's surface there are three boundary conditions. As a result, for a fixed dimensionless viscosity $\alpha$-value, we find that there is a definite relation between the ratio ${\cal R}$ of the accretion power going into magnetic disk winds to the viscous power dissipation and the midplane plasma-$\beta$, which is the ratio of the plasma to magnetic pressure in the disk. For a specific disk model with ${\cal R}$ of order unity we find that the critical value required for a stationary solution is $\beta_c \approx 2.4r/(\alpha h)$, where $h$ the disk's half thickness. For weaker magnetic fields, $\beta > \beta_c$, we argue that the poloidal field will advect outward while for $\beta< \beta_c$ it will advect inward. Alternatively, if the disk wind is negligible (${\cal R} \ll 1$), there are stationary solutions with $\beta \gg \beta_c$.

Resolving the inner regions of the HD 97048 circumstellar disk with VLT/NACO polarimetric differential imaging

Circumstellar disks are the cradles of planetary systems and their physical and chemical properties directly influence the planet formation process. As most planets supposedly form in the inner disk regions, i.e., within a few tens of AU, it is crucial to study circumstellar disk on these scales to constrain the conditions for planet formation. Our aims are to characterize the inner regions of the circumstellar disk around the young Herbig Ae/Be star HD97048 in polarized light. We use VLT/NACO to observe HD97048 in polarimetric differential imaging (PDI) mode in the H and Ks band. We spatially resolve the disk around HD97048 in polarized flux in both filters on scales between ~0.1"-1.0" corresponding to the inner ~16-160 AU. Fitting isophots to the flux calibrated H-band image between 13 - 14 mag/arcsec^2 and 14 - 15 mag/arcsec^2 we derive a apparent disk inclination angle of 34+-5 deg and 47+-2 deg, respectively. The disk position angle in both brightness regimes is almost identical and roughly 80 deg. Along the disk major axis the surface brightness of the polarized flux drops from ~11 mag/arcsec^2 at ~0.1" (~16 AU) to ~15.3 mag/arcsec^2 at ~1.0" (~160 AU). The brightness profiles along the major axis are fitted with power-laws falling off as ~r^(-1.78+-0.02) in H and ~r^(-2.34+-0.04) in Ks. As the surface brightness drops off more rapidly in Ks compared to H the disks becomes relatively bluer at larger separations possibly indicating changing dust grain properties as a function of radius. For the first time the inner ~0.1"-1.0" (~16-160 AU) of the surface layer of the HD97048 circumstellar disk have been imaged in scattered light demonstrating the power of ground-based imaging polarimetry. Our data fill an important gap in a large collection of existing data including resolved thermal dust and PAH emission images as well as resolved gas emission lines.

LARGE-SCALE MAGNETIC FIELD IN ACCRETION DISKS AND RELATIVISTIC POYNTING-FLUX JETS

In earlier works we pointed out that the disk's surface layers are non-turbulent and thus highly conducting (or non-diffusive) because of hydrodynamic and/or magnetorotational (MRI) instabilities are suppressed high in the disk where the magnetic and radiation pressures are larger than the plasma thermal pressure. We have derived equations for the vertical profiles of stationary accretion flows (with radial and azimuthal components), and the profiles of the large-scale, magnetic field taking into account the turbulent viscosity and diffusivity and the fact that the turbulence vanishes at the surface of the disk. Our recent analysis in Ref. 1 shows that the inward or outward advection of the large-scale magnetic field depends on the ratio [Formula: see text] of the accretion power going into magnetic disk winds to the viscous power dissipation and the plasma-β which is the ratio of the midplane plasma pressure to the magnetic pressure. Recent radio emission, polarization, and Faraday rotation maps of the radio jet of the galaxy 3C303 have been obtained in Ref. 2 and show that one component of this jet has a galactic-scale electric current of ~ 3 × 1018 A flowing along the jet axis. We show that this current can be used to calculate the electromagnetic energy flow in this magnetically dominated jet.

SURFACE LAYER ACCRETION IN CONVENTIONAL AND TRANSITIONAL DISKS DRIVEN BY FAR-ULTRAVIOLET IONIZATION

Whether protoplanetary disks accrete at observationally significant rates by the magnetorotational instability (MRI) depends on how well ionized they are. Disk surface layers ionized by stellar X-rays are susceptible to charge neutralization by small condensates, ranging from ~0.01-micron-sized grains to angstrom-sized polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Ion densities in X-ray-irradiated surfaces are so low that ambipolar diffusion weakens the MRI. Here we show that ionization by stellar far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation enables full-blown MRI turbulence in disk surface layers. Far-UV ionization of atomic carbon and sulfur produces a plasma so dense that it is immune to ion recombination on grains and PAHs. The FUV-ionized layer, of thickness 0.01--0.1 g/cm^2, behaves in the ideal magnetohydrodynamic limit and can accrete at observationally significant rates at radii > 1--10 AU. Surface layer accretion driven by FUV ionization can reproduce the trend of increasing accretion rate with increasing hole size seen in transitional disks. At radii < 1--10 AU, FUV-ionized surface layers cannot sustain the accretion rates generated at larger distance, and unless turbulent mixing of plasma can thicken the MRI-active layer, an additional means of transport is needed. In the case of transitional disks, it could be provided by planets.

ORGANIC MOLECULES AND WATER IN THE INNER DISKS OF T TAURI STARS

We report high signal-to-noise Spitzer IRS spectra of a sample of eleven classical T Tauri stars. Molecular emission from rotational transitions of H2O and OH and ro-vibrational bands of simple organic molecules (CO2, HCN, C2H2) is common among the sources in the sample. The gas temperatures (200-800 K) and emitting areas we derive are consistent with the emission originating in a warm disk atmosphere in the inner planet formation region at radii < 2 AU. The H2O emission appears to form under a limited range of excitation conditions, as shown by the similarity in relative strengths of H2O features from star to star and the narrow range in derived temperature and column density. Emission from highly excited rotational levels of OH is present in all stars; the OH emission flux increases with the stellar accretion rate, and the OH/H2O flux ratio shows a relatively small scatter. We interpret these results as evidence for OH production via FUV photo-dissociation of H2O in the disk surface layers. No obvious explanation is found for the observed range in the relative emission strengths of different organic molecules or in their strength with respect to water. We put forward the possibility that these variations reflect a diversity in organic abundances due to star-to-star differences in the C/O ratio of the inner disk gas. Stars with the largest HCN/H2O flux ratios in our sample have the largest disk masses. We speculate that such a trend could result if higher mass disks are more efficient at planetesimal formation and sequestration of water in the outer disk, leading to enhanced C/O ratios and abundances of organic molecules in the inner disk. A comparison of our derived HCN to H2O column density ratio to comets, hot cores, and outer T Tauri star disks suggests that the inner disks are chemically active.

SURFACE LAYER ACCRETION IN TRANSITIONAL AND CONVENTIONAL DISKS: FROM POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS TO PLANETS

Transitional T Tauri disks have optically thin holes with radii > 10 AU, yet accrete up to the median T Tauri rate. Multiple planets inside the hole can torque the gas to high radial speeds over large distances, reducing the local surface density while maintaining accretion. Thus multi-planet systems, together with reductions in disk opacity due to grain growth, can explain how holes can be simultaneously transparent and accreting. There remains the problem of how outer disk gas diffuses into the hole. Here it has been proposed that the magnetorotational instability (MRI) erodes disk surface layers ionized by stellar X-rays. In contrast to previous work, we find that the extent to which surface layers are MRI-active is limited not by ohmic dissipation but by ambipolar diffusion, the latter measured by Am: the number of times a neutral hydrogen molecule collides with ions in a dynamical time. Simulations by Hawley & Stone showed that Am ~ 100 is necessary for ions to drive MRI turbulence in neutral gas. We calculate that in X-ray-irradiated surface layers, Am typically varies from ~0.001 to 1, depending on the abundance of charge-adsorbing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, whose properties we infer from Spitzer observations. We conclude that ionization of H_2 by X-rays and cosmic rays can sustain, at most, only weak MRI turbulence in surface layers 1 to 10 g/cm^2 thick, and that accretion rates in such layers are too small compared to observed accretion rates for the majority of disks.

On the origin of [NeII] 12.81 μm emission from pre-main sequence stars: Disks, jets, and accretion

(Abridged) We have conducted a study of [NeII] line emission based on a sample of 92 pre-main sequence stars mostly belonging to the infrared Class II, including 13 accreting transition disk objects and 14 objects driving jets and outflows. We find several significant correlations between L[NeII] and stellar parameters, in particular LX and the wind mass loss rate, dM/dt. Most correlations are, however, strongly dominated by systematic scatter. While there is a positive correlation between L[NeII] and LX, the stellar mass accretion rate, dMacc/dt, induces a correlation only if we combine the largely different subsets of jet sources and stars without jets. Our results suggest that L[NeII] is bi-modally distributed, with separate distributions for the two subsamples. The jet sources show systematically higher L[NeII], by 1-2 orders of magnitude with respect to objects without jets. Jet-driving stars also tend to show higher mass accretion rates. We therefore hypothesize that the trend with dMacc/dt reflects a trend with dM/dt that is more physically relevant for [NeII] emission. L[NeII] measured for objects without known outflows and jets is found to agree with simplified calculations of [NeII] emission from disk surface layers if the measured stellar X-rays are responsible for heating and ionizing of the gas. The large scatter in L[NeII] may be introduced by variations of disk properties and the irradiation spectrum, as previously suggested. The systematically enhanced [NeII] flux from jet sources clearly suggests a role for the jets themselves, as previously demonstrated by a spatially resolved observation of the outflow system in the T Tau triple.

Where is the warm H2? A search for H2emission from disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars

Mid-IR emission lines of H2 are useful probes to determine the mass of warm gas present in the surface layers of disks. Numerous observations of Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAeBes) have been performed, but only 2 detections of mid-IR H2 toward HD97048 and AB Aur have been reported. We aim at tracing the warm gas in the disks of 5 HAeBes with gas-rich environments and physical characteristics close to those of AB Aur and HD97048, to discuss whether the detections toward these 2 objects are suggestive of peculiar conditions for the gas. We search for the H2 S(1) emission line at 17.035 \mu\m with VISIR, and complemented by CH molecule observations with UVES. We gather the H2 measurements from the literature to put the new results in context and search for a correlation with some disk properties. None of the 5 VISIR targets shows evidence for H2 emission. From the 3sigma upper limits on the integrated line fluxes we constrain the amount of optically thin warm gas to be less than 1.4 M_Jup in the disk surface layers. There are now 20 HAeBes observed with VISIR and TEXES instruments to search for warm H2, but only two detections (HD97048 and AB Aur) were made so far. We find that the two stars with detected warm H2 show at the same time high 30/13 \mu\m flux ratios and large PAH line fluxes at 8.6 and 11.3 \mu\m compared to the bulk of observed HAeBes and have emission CO lines detected at 4.7 \mu\m. We detect the CH 4300.3A absorption line toward both HD97048 and AB Aur with UVES. The CH to H2 abundance ratios that this would imply if it were to arise from the same component as well as the radial velocity of the CH lines both suggest that CH arises from a surrounding envelope, while the detected H2 would reside in the disk. The two detections of the S(1) line in the disks of HD97048 and AB Aur suggest either peculiar physical conditions or a particular stage of evolution.

THE EFFECTS OF MAGNETIC FIELDS AND INHOMOGENEITIES ON ACCRETION DISK SPECTRA AND POLARIZATION

We present the results of one and three-dimensional radiative transfer calculations of polarized spectra emerging from snapshots of radiation magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the local vertical structure of black hole accretion disks. The simulations cover a wide range of physical regimes relevant for the high/soft state of black hole X-ray binaries. We constrain the uncertainties in theoretical spectral color correction factors due to the presence of magnetic support of the disk surface layers and strong density inhomogeneities. For the radiation dominated simulation, magnetic support increases the color correction factor by about ten percent, but this is largely compensated by a ten percent softening due to inhomogeneities. We also compute the effects of inhomogeneities and Faraday rotation on the resulting polarization. Magnetic fields in the simulations are just strong enough to produce significant Faraday depolarization near the spectral peak of the radiation field. X-ray polarimetry may therefore be a valuable diagnostic of accretion disk magnetic fields, being able to directly test simulations of magnetorotational turbulence.

ADVECTION/DIFFUSION OF LARGE-SCALE B FIELD IN ACCRETION DISKS

Activity of the nuclei of galaxies and stellar mass systems involving disk accretion to black holes is thought to be due to (1) a small-scale turbulent magnetic field in the disk (due to the magneto-rotational instability or MRI) which gives a large viscosity enhancing accretion, and (2) a large-scale magnetic field which gives rise to matter outflows and/or electromagnetic jets from the disk which also enhances accretion. An important problem with this picture is that the enhanced viscosity is accompanied by an enhanced magnetic diffusivity which acts to prevent the build up of a significant large-scale field. Recent work has pointed out that the disk's surface layers are non-turbulent and thus highly conducting (or non-diffusive) because the MRI is suppressed high in the disk where the magnetic and radiation pressures are larger than the thermal pressure. Here, we calculate the vertical ($z$) profiles of the stationary accretion flows (with radial and azimuthal components), and the profiles of the large-scale, magnetic field taking into account the turbulent viscosity and diffusivity due to the MRI and the fact that the turbulence vanishes at the surface of the disk. The stationary solutions we find indicate that a weak ($\beta > 1$) large-scale field does not diffuse away as suggested by earlier work.

Episodic formation of cometary material in the outburst of a young Sun-like star

The Solar System originated in a cloud of interstellar gas and dust. The dust is in the form of amorphous silicate particles and carbonaceous dust. The composition of cometary material, however, shows that a significant fraction of the amorphous silicate dust was transformed into crystalline form during the early evolution of the protosolar nebula. How and when this transformation happened has been a question of debate, with the main options being heating by the young Sun and shock heating. Here we report mid-infrared features in the outburst spectrum of the young Sun-like star EX Lupi that were not present in quiescence. We attribute them to crystalline forsterite. We conclude that the crystals were produced through thermal annealing in the surface layer of the inner disk by heat from the outburst, a process that has hitherto not been considered. The observed lack of cold crystals excludes shock heating at larger radii.

MOLECULAR HYDROGEN IN THE DISK OF THE HERBIG Ae STAR HD 97048

We present high-resolution spectroscopic mid-infrared observations of the circumstellar disk around the Herbig Ae star HD97048 obtained with the VLT Imager and Spectrometer for the mid-InfraRed (VISIR). We conducted observations of mid-infrared pure rotational lines of molecular hydrogen (H2) as a tracer of warm gas in the disk surface layers. In a previous paper, we reported the detection of the S(1) pure rotational line of H2 at 17.035 microns and argued it is arising from the inner regions of the disk around the star. We used VISIR on the VLT for a more comprehensive study based on complementary observations of the other mid-infrared molecular transitions, namely S(2) and S(4) at 12.278 microns and 8.025 microns respectively, to investigate the physical properties of the molecular gas in the circumstellar disk around HD97048. We do not detect neither the S(2) line nor the S(4) H2 line from the disk of HD97048, but we derive upper limits on the integrated line fluxes which allows us to estimate an upper limit on the gas excitation temperature, T_ex < 570 K. This limit on the temperature is consistent with the assumptions previously used in the analysis of the S(1) line, and allows us to set stronger contraints on the mass of warm gas in the inner regions of the disk. Indeed, we estimate the mass of warm gas to be lower than 0.1 M_Jup. We also discuss the probable physical mechanisms which could be responsible of the excitation of H2 in the disk of HD97048.