Effects of stellar density on the photoevaporation of circumstellar discs

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Main Authors: Concha-Ramírez, Francisca, Wilhelm, Maite J. C., Zwart, Simon Portegies, van Terwisga, Sierk E., Hacar, Alvaro
Format: Preprint
Published: 2020
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author Concha-Ramírez, Francisca
Wilhelm, Maite J. C.
Zwart, Simon Portegies
van Terwisga, Sierk E.
Hacar, Alvaro
author_facet Concha-Ramírez, Francisca
Wilhelm, Maite J. C.
Zwart, Simon Portegies
van Terwisga, Sierk E.
Hacar, Alvaro
contents Circumstellar discs are the precursors of planetary systems and develop shortly after their host star has formed. In their early stages these discs are immersed in an environment rich in gas and neighbouring stars, which can be hostile for their survival. There are several environmental processes that affect the evolution of circumstellar discs, and external photoevaporation is arguably one of the most important ones. Theoretical and observational evidence point to circumstellar discs losing mass quickly when in the vicinity of massive, bright stars. In this work we simulate circumstellar discs in clustered environments in a range of stellar densities, where the photoevaporation mass-loss process is resolved simultaneously with the stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, and the viscous evolution of the discs. Our results indicate that external photoevaporation is efficient in depleting disc masses and that the degree of its effect is related to stellar density. We find that a local stellar density lower than 100 stars pc$^{-2}$ is necessary for discs massive enough to form planets to survive for \SI{2.0}{Myr}. There is an order of magnitude difference in the disc masses in regions of projected density 100 stars pc$^{-2}$ versus $10^4$ stars pc$^{-2}$. We compare our results to observations of the Lupus clouds, the Orion Nebula Cluster, the Orion Molecular Cloud-2, Taurus, and NGC 2024, and find that the trends observed between region density and disc masses are similar to those in our simulations.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2006_07378
institution arXiv
publishDate 2020
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Effects of stellar density on the photoevaporation of circumstellar discs
Concha-Ramírez, Francisca
Wilhelm, Maite J. C.
Zwart, Simon Portegies
van Terwisga, Sierk E.
Hacar, Alvaro
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Circumstellar discs are the precursors of planetary systems and develop shortly after their host star has formed. In their early stages these discs are immersed in an environment rich in gas and neighbouring stars, which can be hostile for their survival. There are several environmental processes that affect the evolution of circumstellar discs, and external photoevaporation is arguably one of the most important ones. Theoretical and observational evidence point to circumstellar discs losing mass quickly when in the vicinity of massive, bright stars. In this work we simulate circumstellar discs in clustered environments in a range of stellar densities, where the photoevaporation mass-loss process is resolved simultaneously with the stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, and the viscous evolution of the discs. Our results indicate that external photoevaporation is efficient in depleting disc masses and that the degree of its effect is related to stellar density. We find that a local stellar density lower than 100 stars pc$^{-2}$ is necessary for discs massive enough to form planets to survive for \SI{2.0}{Myr}. There is an order of magnitude difference in the disc masses in regions of projected density 100 stars pc$^{-2}$ versus $10^4$ stars pc$^{-2}$. We compare our results to observations of the Lupus clouds, the Orion Nebula Cluster, the Orion Molecular Cloud-2, Taurus, and NGC 2024, and find that the trends observed between region density and disc masses are similar to those in our simulations.
title Effects of stellar density on the photoevaporation of circumstellar discs
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2006.07378