Tracking the Chemical Evolution of Hydrocarbons Through Carbon Grain Supply in Protoplanetary Disks
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arXiv
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| Format: | Preprint |
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2025
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| _version_ | 1866917911007854592 |
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| author | Raul, Eshan Alarcón, Felipe Bergin, Edwin A. |
| author_facet | Raul, Eshan Alarcón, Felipe Bergin, Edwin A. |
| contents | The gas present in planet-forming disks typically exhibits strong emission features of abundant carbon and oxygen molecular carriers. In some instances, protoplanetary disks show an elevated C/O ratio above interstellar values, which leads to a rich hydrocarbon chemistry evidenced in the mid-infrared spectra. The origin of this strengthened C/O ratio may stem from the release of less complex hydrocarbons from the chemical processing of carbonaceous grains. We have explored a set of 42 single-cell models in which we match the physical conditions to the inner regions of planet-forming disks, while varying the C/O ratio by exploring different levels of CH$_4$, C, H$_2$O, and CO to the gas-phase chemistry, which we evaluate in both the cosmic/X-ray and UV-driven limit. We find that the carbon-bearing species in our models exhibit high dependencies on the driver of the chemistry, where both CO and long chain hydrocarbons act as carbon sinks in the cosmic/X-ray-driven chemistry limit, while the vast majority ends up in atomic carbon and CO in the UV-driven limit. We also find moderate dependencies upon the C/O ratio, where this and the ionization rate/UV field determines the point of peak production of a species as well as its equilibrium abundance. We also find that the production of several hydrocarbons, specifically C$_2$H$_2$, is strongly dependent up to an order of magnitude on the initial water abundance. We lastly find that in the X-ray-driven limit, both CH$_4$ and C serve as highly transient donor species to the carbon chemistry. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_01765 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Tracking the Chemical Evolution of Hydrocarbons Through Carbon Grain Supply in Protoplanetary Disks Raul, Eshan Alarcón, Felipe Bergin, Edwin A. Earth and Planetary Astrophysics The gas present in planet-forming disks typically exhibits strong emission features of abundant carbon and oxygen molecular carriers. In some instances, protoplanetary disks show an elevated C/O ratio above interstellar values, which leads to a rich hydrocarbon chemistry evidenced in the mid-infrared spectra. The origin of this strengthened C/O ratio may stem from the release of less complex hydrocarbons from the chemical processing of carbonaceous grains. We have explored a set of 42 single-cell models in which we match the physical conditions to the inner regions of planet-forming disks, while varying the C/O ratio by exploring different levels of CH$_4$, C, H$_2$O, and CO to the gas-phase chemistry, which we evaluate in both the cosmic/X-ray and UV-driven limit. We find that the carbon-bearing species in our models exhibit high dependencies on the driver of the chemistry, where both CO and long chain hydrocarbons act as carbon sinks in the cosmic/X-ray-driven chemistry limit, while the vast majority ends up in atomic carbon and CO in the UV-driven limit. We also find moderate dependencies upon the C/O ratio, where this and the ionization rate/UV field determines the point of peak production of a species as well as its equilibrium abundance. We also find that the production of several hydrocarbons, specifically C$_2$H$_2$, is strongly dependent up to an order of magnitude on the initial water abundance. We lastly find that in the X-ray-driven limit, both CH$_4$ and C serve as highly transient donor species to the carbon chemistry. |
| title | Tracking the Chemical Evolution of Hydrocarbons Through Carbon Grain Supply in Protoplanetary Disks |
| topic | Earth and Planetary Astrophysics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.01765 |