Detailed Microwave Continuum Spectra from Bright Protoplanetary Disks in Taurus

Fuente: arXiv
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Autores principales: Painter, Caleb, Andrews, Sean M., Chandler, Claire J., Ueda, Takahiro, Wilner, David J., Long, Feng, Macias, Enrique, Carrasco-Gonzalez, Carlos, Chung, Chia-Ying, Liu, Hauyu Baobab, Birnstiel, Tilman, Hughes, A. Meredith
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Painter, Caleb
Andrews, Sean M.
Chandler, Claire J.
Ueda, Takahiro
Wilner, David J.
Long, Feng
Macias, Enrique
Carrasco-Gonzalez, Carlos
Chung, Chia-Ying
Liu, Hauyu Baobab
Birnstiel, Tilman
Hughes, A. Meredith
author_facet Painter, Caleb
Andrews, Sean M.
Chandler, Claire J.
Ueda, Takahiro
Wilner, David J.
Long, Feng
Macias, Enrique
Carrasco-Gonzalez, Carlos
Chung, Chia-Ying
Liu, Hauyu Baobab
Birnstiel, Tilman
Hughes, A. Meredith
contents We present new observations that densely sample the microwave (4-360 GHz) continuum spectra from eight young systems in the Taurus region. Multi-component, empirical model prescriptions were used to disentangle the contributions from their dust disks and other emission mechanisms. We found partially optically thick, free-free emission in all these systems, with positive spectral indices (median $α_{\rm c} \approx 1$ at 10 GHz) and contributing 5-50% of the 43 GHz fluxes. There is no evidence for synchrotron or spinning dust grain emission contributions for these targets. The inferred dust disk spectra all show substantial curvature: their spectral indices decrease with frequency, from $α_{\rm d} \approx 2.8$-4.0 around 43 GHz to 1.7-2.1 around 340 GHz. This curvature suggests that a substantial fraction of the (sub)millimeter ($\gtrsim$ 200 GHz) dust emission may be optically thick, and therefore the traditional metrics for estimating dust masses are flawed. Assuming the emission at lower frequencies (43 GHz) is optically thin, the local spectral indices and fluxes were used to constrain the disk-averaged dust properties and estimate corresponding dust masses. These masses are roughly an order of magnitude higher ($\approx 1000 \, M_\oplus$) than those found from the traditional approach based on (sub)millimeter fluxes. These findings emphasize the value of broad spectral coverage - particularly extending to lower frequencies ($\sim$cm-band) - for accurately interpreting dust disk emission; such observations may help reshape our perspective on the available mass budgets for planet formation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2507_21268
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Detailed Microwave Continuum Spectra from Bright Protoplanetary Disks in Taurus
Painter, Caleb
Andrews, Sean M.
Chandler, Claire J.
Ueda, Takahiro
Wilner, David J.
Long, Feng
Macias, Enrique
Carrasco-Gonzalez, Carlos
Chung, Chia-Ying
Liu, Hauyu Baobab
Birnstiel, Tilman
Hughes, A. Meredith
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
We present new observations that densely sample the microwave (4-360 GHz) continuum spectra from eight young systems in the Taurus region. Multi-component, empirical model prescriptions were used to disentangle the contributions from their dust disks and other emission mechanisms. We found partially optically thick, free-free emission in all these systems, with positive spectral indices (median $α_{\rm c} \approx 1$ at 10 GHz) and contributing 5-50% of the 43 GHz fluxes. There is no evidence for synchrotron or spinning dust grain emission contributions for these targets. The inferred dust disk spectra all show substantial curvature: their spectral indices decrease with frequency, from $α_{\rm d} \approx 2.8$-4.0 around 43 GHz to 1.7-2.1 around 340 GHz. This curvature suggests that a substantial fraction of the (sub)millimeter ($\gtrsim$ 200 GHz) dust emission may be optically thick, and therefore the traditional metrics for estimating dust masses are flawed. Assuming the emission at lower frequencies (43 GHz) is optically thin, the local spectral indices and fluxes were used to constrain the disk-averaged dust properties and estimate corresponding dust masses. These masses are roughly an order of magnitude higher ($\approx 1000 \, M_\oplus$) than those found from the traditional approach based on (sub)millimeter fluxes. These findings emphasize the value of broad spectral coverage - particularly extending to lower frequencies ($\sim$cm-band) - for accurately interpreting dust disk emission; such observations may help reshape our perspective on the available mass budgets for planet formation.
title Detailed Microwave Continuum Spectra from Bright Protoplanetary Disks in Taurus
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.21268