1. EVOLUTION OF X-RAY AND FAR-ULTRAVIOLET DISK-DISPERSING RADIATION FIELDS
- Author
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Jon M. Miller, Edwin A. Bergin, Jesús Hernández, Laura Ingleby, Nuria Calvet, Catherine Espaillat, Cesar Briceno, and Lee Hartmann
- Subjects
Physics ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,Astrophysics::High Energy Astrophysical Phenomena ,Gas evolution reaction ,myr ,Astronomy and Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics ,Astrophysics ,Radiation ,01 natural sciences ,Photoevaporation ,Accretion (astrophysics) ,T Tauri star ,Stars ,13. Climate action ,Space and Planetary Science ,0103 physical sciences ,Astrophysics::Solar and Stellar Astrophysics ,Astrophysics::Earth and Planetary Astrophysics ,010303 astronomy & astrophysics ,Radiant intensity ,Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences - Abstract
We present new X-ray and Far Ultraviolet (FUV) observations of T Tauri stars covering the age range 1 to 10 Myr. Our goals are to observationally constrain the intensity of radiation fields responsible for evaporating gas from the circumstellar disk and to assess the feasibility of current photoevaporation models, focusing on X-ray and UV radiation. We greatly increase the number of 7-10 Myr old T Tauri stars observed in the X-rays by including observations of the well populated 25 Ori aggregate in the Orion OB1a subassociation. With these new 7-10 Myr objects, we confirm that X-ray emission remains constant from 1-10 Myr. We also show, for the first time, observational evidence for the evolution of FUV radiation fields with a sample of 56 accreting and non-accreting young stars spanning 1 Myr to 1 Gyr. We find that the FUV emission decreases on timescales consistent with the decline of accretion in classical T Tauri stars until reaching the chromospheric level in weak T Tauri stars and debris disks. Overall, we find that the observed strength of high energy radiation is consistent with that required by photoevaporation models to dissipate the disks in timescales of approximately 10 Myr. Finally, we find that the high energy fields that affect gas evolution are not similarly affecting dust evolution; in particular, we find that disks with inner clearings, the transitional disks, have similar levels of FUV emission as full disks.
- Published
- 2011
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