Infrared Spectroscopy of Molecules in Disks

Abstract

Disks surrounding young stars play a fundamental role in the formation of stars and planets. Accretion through disks is believed to be responsible for the build up of stellar masses, and the gas and dust in disks is a reservoir for the potential formation of planets. As a result, one of the motivations for observing the inner regions of disks (i.e., the region within 10 AU) is to obtain clues to the processes that govern how stars and planets form. Significant progress has been made over the last decade in probing the inner regions of gaseous disks through the use of infrared molecular transitions. I discuss the observational tools that are currently available to study the gaseous component. These tools can be used to explore the evolution of gas in the inner disk and thereby help us to understand the processes of giant and terrestrial planet formation. These same tools may also be used to place constraints on the physical mechanisms that drive the disk accretion process.