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We analyze high-resolution UV spectra of a small sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBESs) in order to explore the origin of the T ∼ 105 K gas in these stars. The C iv λλ1548, 1550 line luminosities are compared to nonsimultaneous accretion rate estimates for the objects showing C iv emission. We show that the correlation between LC iv and previously established for classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) seems to extend into the HAEBE mass regime, although the large spread in literature and AV values makes the actual relationship highly uncertain. With the exception of DX Cha, we find no evidence for hot, optically thick winds in our HAEBE sample. All other objects showing clear doublet emission in C iv can be well described by a two-component (i.e., a single component for each doublet member) or four-component (i.e., two components for each doublet member) Gaussian emission line fit. The morphologies and peak-flux velocities of these lines suggest that they are formed in weak, optically thin stellar winds and not in an accretion flow, as is the case for the hot lines observed in CTTSs. The lack of strong outflow signatures and lack of evidence for line formation in accretion flows are consistent with the conclusion presented in our recent optical and He i λ10830 studies that the immediate circumstellar environments of HAEBESs, in general, are not scaled-up analogs of the immediate environments around CTTSs. The conclusions presented here for hot gas lines around HAEBESs should be verified with a larger sample of objects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We made near-infrared multicolor imaging observations of a disk around Herbig Be star HD 100546 using Gemini/NICI. K (2.2 μm), H2O ice (3.06 μm), and L′ (3.8 μm) disk images were obtained and we found a 3.1 μm absorption feature in the scattered light spectrum, likely due to water ice grains at the disk surface. We compared the observed depth of the ice absorption feature with the disk model based on Oka et al., including the water ice photodesorption effect by stellar UV photons. The observed absorption depth can be explained by both the disk models with and without the photodesorption effect within the measurement accuracy, but the model with photodesorption effects is slightly more favored, implying that the UV photons play an important role in the survival/destruction of ice grains at the Herbig Ae/Be disk surface. Further improvement to the accuracy of the observations of the water ice absorption depth is needed to constrain the disk models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We attempt to constrain the physical properties of the inner, gaseous disk of the Herbig Be star BD+65 1637 using non-LTE, circumstellar disk codes and observed spectra (3700–10500 Å) from the ESPaDOnS instrument on the Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope. The photoionizing radiation of the central star is assumed to be the sole source of input energy for the disk. We model optical and near-infrared emission lines that are thought to form in this region using standard techniques that have been successful in modeling the spectra of classical Be stars. By comparing synthetic line profiles of hydrogen, helium, iron, and calcium with the observed line profiles, we try to constrain the geometry, density structure, and kinematics of the gaseous disk. Reasonable matches have been found for all line profiles individually; however, no disk density model based on a single power law for the equatorial density was able to simultaneously fit all of the observed emission lines. Among the emission lines, the metal lines, especially the Ca ii IR triplet, seem to require higher disk densities than the other lines. Excluding the Ca ii lines, a model in which the equatorial disk density falls as 10−10 (R*/R)3 g cm−3 seen at an inclination of 45° for a 50 R* disk provides reasonable matches to the overall line shapes and strengths. The Ca ii lines seem to require a shallower drop-off as 10−10 (R*/R)2 g cm−3 to match their strength. More complex disk density models are likely required to refine the match to the BD+65 1637 spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The radio-knots of the Herbig–Haro (HH) 80/81/80N jet extend from the HH 80 object to the recently discovered Source 34 and has a total projected jet size of 10.3 pc, constituting the largest collimated radio-jet system known so far. It is powered by the bright infrared source IRAS 18162−2048 associated with a massive young stellar object. We report 6 cm JVLA observations that, compared with previous 6 cm VLA observations carried out in 1989, allow us to derive proper motions of the HH 80, HH 81, and HH 80N radio knots located about 2.5 pc away in projection from the powering source. For the first time, we measure proper motions of the optically obscured HH 80N object providing evidence that this knot, along with HH 81 and HH 80 are associated with the same radio-jet. We also confirm the presence of Source 34, located further north of HH 80N, previously proposed to belong to the jet.We derived that the tangential velocity of HH 80N is 260 km s−1 and has a direction in agreement with the expected direction of a ballistic precessing jet. The HH 80 and HH 81 objects have tangential velocities of 350 and 220 km s−1, respectively, but their directions are somewhat deviated from the expected jet path. The velocities of the HH objects studied in this work are significantly lower than those derived for the radio knots of the jet close to the powering source (600–1400 km s−1) suggesting that the jet is slowing down due to a strong interaction with the ambient medium. As a result, since HH 80 and HH 81 are located near the edge of the cloud, the inhomogeneous and low density medium may contribute to skew the direction of their determined proper motions. The HH 80 and HH 80N emission at 6 cm is, at least in part, probably synchrotron radiation produced by relativistic electrons in a magnetic field of 1 mG. If these electrons are accelerated in a reverse adiabatic shock, we estimate a jet total density of ≲1000 cm−3. All of these features are consistent with a jet emanating from a high-mass protostar and make evident its capability of accelerating particles up to relativistic velocities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine a broad range of mass flow diagnostics in a large sample of Herbig Ae/Be stars (HAEBES) using high resolution optical spectra. The Hβ and He i 5876 Å lines show the highest incidence of P Cygni (30%) and inverse P Cygni (14%) morphologies, respectively. The Fe ii 4924 Å line also shows a large incidence of P Cygni profiles (11%). We find support for many of the conclusions reached in a study based on the analysis of the He i λ10830 line in a large sample of HAEBES. Namely, HAEBES exhibit smaller fractions of both blueshifted absorption (i.e., mass outflow) and redshifted absorption (i.e., mass infall or accretion) than their lower mass cousins, the classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs). In particular, the optical data supports the conclusion that HAEBES displaying redshifted absorption, in general, show maximum redshifted absorption velocities that are smaller fractions of their stellar escape velocities than is found for CTTSs. This suggests that HAEBE accretion flows are originating deeper in the gravitational potentials of their stars than in CTTS systems. In addition, we find a lack of inner disk wind signatures in the blueshifted absorption objects; only stellar wind signatures are clearly observed. These findings, along with the lack of detected magnetic fields around HAEBES, support the idea that large magnetospheres are not prevalent around HAEBES and that accretion flows are instead mediated by significantly smaller magnetospheres with relatively smaller truncation radii (e.g., 1–2 R*). Redshifted absorption is much more common around Herbig Ae stars than Be stars, suggesting that Herbig Be stars may accrete via a boundary layer rather than along magnetic field lines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fundamental rovibrational band of CO near 4.7 μm is a sensitive tracer of the presence and location of molecular gas in the planet-forming region of protoplanetary disks at 0.01–10 AU. We present a new analysis of a high-resolution spectral survey (R ∼ 96,000, or ) of CO rovibrational lines from protoplanetary disks spanning a wide range of stellar masses and of evolutionary properties. We find that the CO emission originates in two distinct velocity components. Line widths of both components correlate strongly with disk inclination, as expected for gas in Keplerian rotation. By measuring the line flux ratios between vibrational transitions , we find that the two velocity components are clearly distinct in excitation. The broad component () probes the disk region near the magnetospheric accretion radius at AU, where the gas is hot ( K). The narrow component () probes the disk at larger radii of 0.1–10 AU, where the gas is typically colder (200–700 K). CO excitation temperatures and orbital radii define an empirical temperature–radius relation as a power law with index −0.3 ± 0.1 between 0.05 and 3 AU. The broad CO component, co-spatial with the observed orbital distribution of hot Jupiters, is rarely detected in transitional and Herbig Ae disks, providing evidence for an early dissipation of the innermost disk. An inversion in the temperature profile beyond 3 AU is interpreted as a tracer of a regime dominated by UV pumping in largely devoid inner disks, and may be a signature of the last stage before the disk enters the gas-poor debris phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present results from an 850 μm survey of the ∼5 Myr old λ Orionis star-forming region. We used the SCUBA-2 camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope to survey a ∼0.°5-diameter circular region containing 36 (out of 59) cluster members with infrared excesses indicative of circumstellar disks. We detected only one object at significance, the Herbig Ae star HD 245185, with a flux density of ∼74 mJy beam−1 corresponding to a dust mass of ∼150 . Stacking the individually undetected sources did not produce a significant mean signal but gives an upper limit on the average dust mass for λ Orionis disks of ∼3 . Our follow-up observations of HD 245185 with the Submillimeter Array found weak CO 2–1 line emission with an integrated flux of ∼170 mJy km s−1 but no 13CO or C18O isotopologue emission at 30 mJy km s−1 sensitivity, suggesting a gas mass of M. The implied gas-to-dust ratio is thus times lower than the canonical interstellar medium value, setting HD 245185 apart from other Herbig Ae disks of similar age, which have been found to be gas rich; as HD 245185 also shows signs of accretion, we may be catching it in the final phases of disk clearing. Our study of the λ Orionis cluster places quantitative constraints on planet formation timescales, indicating that at ∼5 Myr the average disk no longer has sufficient dust and gas to form giant planets and perhaps even super-Earths; the bulk material has been mostly dispersed or is locked in pebbles/planetesimals larger than a few mm in size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AA Tau, a classical T Tauri star in the Taurus cloud, has been the subject of intensive photometric monitoring for more than two decades due to its quasi-cyclic variation in optical brightness. Beginning in 2011, AA Tau showed another peculiar variation—its median optical though near-IR flux dimmed significantly, a drop consistent with a 4-mag increase in visual extinction. It has stayed in the faint state since. Here we present 4.7 μm CO rovibrational spectra of AA Tau over eight epochs, covering an 11 yr time span, that reveal enhanced 12CO and 13CO absorption features in the Jlow ≤ 13 transitions after the dimming. These newly appeared absorptions require molecular gas along the line of sight with T ∼ 500 K and a column density of log (N ) ∼18.5 cm−2, with line centers that show a constant 6 km s−1 redshift. The properties of the molecular gas confirm an origin in the circumstellar material. We suggest that the dimming and absorption are caused by gas and dust lifted to large heights by a magnetic buoyancy instability. This material is now propagating inward, and on reaching the star within a few years will be observed as an accretion outburst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present ALMA (Cycle 0) band 6 and band 3 observations of the transition disk Sz 91. The disk inclination and position angle are determined to be i = 49.°5 ± 3.°5°and PA = 18.°2 ± 3.°5 and the dusty and gaseous disk are detected up to ∼220 and ∼400 AU from the star, respectively. Most importantly, our continuum observations indicate that the cavity size in the millimeter-sized dust distribution must be ∼97 AU in radius, the largest cavity observed around a T Tauri star. Our data clearly confirm the presence of (2–1) well inside the dust cavity. Based on these observational constraints we developed a disk model that simultaneously accounts for the and continuum observations (i.e., gaseous and dusty disk). According to our model, most of the millimeter emission comes from a ring located between 97 and 140 AU. We also find that the dust cavity is divided into an innermost region largely depleted of dust particles ranging from the dust sublimation radius up to 85 AU, and a second, moderately dust-depleted region, extending from 85 to 97 AU. The extremely large size of the dust cavity, the presence of gas and small dust particles within the cavity, and the accretion rate of Sz 91 are consistent with the formation of multiple (giant) planets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Circumstellar disks around Herbig Be stars," that was published in the 2009 issue is presented.

Deep mid-infrared (10-20 μm) images with sub-arcsecond resolution were obtained for two Herbig Be stars, MWC 1080 and HD 259431, to probe their immediate environments. Our goal is to understand the origin of the diffuse nebulosities observed around these two very young objects. By analyzing our new mid-IR images and comparing them to published data at other wavelengths, we demonstrate that the well-extended emission around MWC 1080 traces neither a disk nor an envelope, but rather the surfaces of a cavity created by the outflow from MWC 1080A, the primary star of the MWC 1080 system. In the N-band images, the filamentary nebulosities trace the hourglass-shaped gas cavity wall out to ∼0.15 pc. This scenario reconciles the properties of the MWC 1080 system revealed by a wide range of observations. Our finding confirms that the environment around MWC 1080, where a small cluster is forming, is strongly affected by the outflow from the central Herbig Be star. Similarities observed between the two subjects of this study suggest that the filamentary emission around HD 259431 may also arise from a similar outflow cavity structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the results of Keck telescope laser adaptive-optics integral field spectroscopy with OSIRIS of the innermost regions of the NGC 1333 SVS 13 outflow that forms the system of Herbig-Haro objects 7-11. We find a bright 0.″2 long microjet traced by the emission of shock-excited [Fe II]. Beyond the extent of this jet, we find a series of bubbles and fragments of bubbles that are traced in the lower excitation H2 1-0 S(1) line. While the most recent outflow activity is directed almost precisely (P.A. ≈ 145°) to the southeast of SVS 13, there is clear indication that prior bubble ejections were pointed in different directions. Within these variations, a clear connection between the newly observed bubble ejection events and the well-known, poorly collimated HH 7-11 system of Herbig-Haro objects is established. The astrometry of the youngest of the expanding shock fronts at three epochs, covering a timespan of over 2 yr, gives kinematic ages for two of these bubbles. The kinematic age of the youngest bubble is slightly older than the historically observed last photometric outburst of SVS 13 in 1990, consistent with that event, launching the bubble and some deceleration of its expansion. A re-evaluation of historic infrared photometry and new data show that SVS 13 has not yet returned to its brightness before that outburst and thus reveal behavior similar to FUor outbursts, albeit with a smaller amplitude. We postulate that the creation of a series of bubbles and the changes in outflow direction are indicative of a precessing disk and accretion events triggered by a repetitive phenomenon possibly linked to the orbit of a close binary companion. However, our high-resolution images in the H and K bands do not directly detect any companion object. We have tried, but failed, to detect the kinematic rotation signature of the microjet in the [Fe II] emission line at 1.644 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present observations of ro-vibrational OH and CO emission from the Herbig Be star HD 100546. The emission from both molecules arises from the inner region of the disk extending from approximately 13 AU from the central star. The velocity profiles of the OH lines are narrower than the velocity profile of the [O I] λ6300 line, indicating that the OH in the disk is not cospatial with the O I. This suggests that the inner optically thin region of the disk is largely devoid of molecular gas. Unlike the ro-vibrational CO emission lines, the OH lines are highly asymmetric. We show that the average CO and average OH line profiles can be fit with a model of a disk comprised of an eccentric inner wall and a circular outer disk. In this model, the vast majority of the OH flux (75%) originates from the inner wall, while the vast majority of the CO flux (65%) originates on the surface of the disk at radii greater than 13 AU. Eccentric inner disks are predicted by hydrodynamic simulations of circumstellar disks containing an embedded giant planet. We discuss the implications of such a disk geometry in light of models of planet-disk tidal interactions and propose alternative explanations for the origin of the asymmetry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key predictions of modeling from the IR excess of Herbig Ae stars is that for protoplanetary disks, where significant grain growth and settling has occurred, the dust disk has flattened to the point that it can be partially or largely shadowed by the innermost material at or near the dust sublimation radius. When the self-shadowing has already started, the outer disk is expected to be detected in scattered light only in the exceptional cases when the scale height of the dust disk at the sublimation radius is smaller than usual. High-contrast imaging combined with the IR spectral energy distribution allow us to measure the degree of flattening of the disk, as well as to determine the properties of the outer disk. We present polarimetric differential imaging in the H band obtained with Subaru/HiCIAO of one such system, MWC 480. The HiCIAO data were obtained at a historic minimum of the NIR excess. The disk is detected in scattered light from 0.″2 to 1.″0 (27.4-137 AU). Together with the marginal detection of the disk from 1998 February 24 by Hubble Space Telescope/NICMOS, our data constrain the opening half-angle for the disk to lie between 1.°3 ⩽θ ⩽ 2.°2. When compared with similar measures in CO for the gas disk from the literature, the dust disk subtends only ∼30% of the gas disk scale height (H/R ∼ 0.03). Such a dust disk is a factor of 5-7 flatter than transitional disks, which have structural signatures that giant planets have formed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

V921 Scorpii is a close binary system (separation 0.″025) showing the B[e]-phenomenon. The system is surrounded by an enigmatic bipolar nebula, which might have been shaped by episodic mass-loss events, possibly triggered by dynamical interactions between the companion and the circumprimary disk. In this paper, we investigate the spatial structure and kinematics of the circumprimary disk, with the aim to obtain new insights into the still strongly debated evolutionary stage. For this purpose, we combine, for the first time, infrared spectro-interferometry (VLTI/AMBER, λ/Δλ = 12, 000) and spectro-astrometry (VLT/CRIRES, λ/Δλ = 100, 000), which allows us to study the AU-scale distribution of circumstellar gas and dust with an unprecedented velocity resolution of 3 km s–1. Using a model-independent photocenter analysis technique, we find that the Brγ-line-emitting gas rotates in the same plane as the dust disk. We can reproduce the wavelength-differential visibilities and phases and the double-peaked line profile using a Keplerian-rotating disk model. The derived mass of the central star is 5.4 ± 0.4 M☼ · (d/1150 pc), which is considerably lower than expected from the spectral classification, suggesting that V921 Sco might be more distant (d ∼ 2 kpc) than commonly assumed. Using the geometric information provided by our Brγ spectro-interferometric data and Paschen, Brackett, and Pfund line decrement measurements in 61 hydrogen recombination line transitions, we derive the density of the line-emitting gas (Ne = (2-6) × 1019 m–3). Given that our measurements can be reproduced with a Keplerian velocity field without an outflowing velocity component and the non-detection of age-indicating spectroscopic diagnostics, our study provides new evidence for the pre-main-sequence nature of V921 Sco. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herbig Ae/Be stars are intermediate-mass, pre-main sequence stars and some have circumstellar disks in which extrasolar planets and planetesimal precursors may lurk. The very young Herbig Be star LkH234 is embedded in a nebula within the NGC 7129 star formation region. Five spectra taken by researchers over 33 days show large and abrupt variations in the sodium absorption lines of LkHα234. The researchers infer that an asteroid-sized solid object was in the process of falling from the disk onto the stellar surface and disintegrated about 0.1 to 2 AU above the star.