No CrossRef data available.
Article contents
Infrared Spectroscopic Studies of Gases in the Circumstellar Environments of Young Stellar Objects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 January 2020
Abstract
The building blocks of planets in planet-forming (“protoplanetary”) disks are assembled early in the lifetime of a young star. The gas disks are relatively short-lived, with a half-life of about 3 million years, as chemical reactions modify the reservoir of material from the natal molecular cloud. Spitzer Space Telescope Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) spectra of protoplanetary disks around T Tauri stars show emission from H2O and absorption from other gases, sometimes consistent with formaldehyde, H2CO , and other times consistent with formic acid, HCOOH, in the 5-7.5 μm region. SOFIA-EXES spectra of YSOs that follow up on these Spitzer-IRS studies are presented. How the gaseous features observed between 5-7.5 μm relate to those at other wavelengths is discussed. This work suggests that water and organic molecules, which are crucial for life as we know it, are present in the habitable zones of stars at a very early age [of 1-3 million years].
Keywords
- Type
- Contributed Papers
- Information
- Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union , Volume 14 , Symposium S345: Origins: From the Protosun to the First Steps of Life , August 2018 , pp. 365 - 366
- Copyright
- © International Astronomical Union 2020