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Measuring the Dust Masses of Protoplanetary Disks in Lupus with ALMA: Evidence That Disks Can Be Optically Thick at 3 mm

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


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Abstract

jats:titleAbstract</jats:title> jats:pAccurate disk mass measurements are necessary to constrain disk evolution and the timescale of planet formation, but such measurements are difficult to make and are very dependent on assumptions. Here, we look at the assumption that the disk is optically thin at radio wavelengths and the effect of this assumption on measurements of disk dust mass. We model the optical to radio spectral energy distributions of 41 protoplanetary disks located in the young (∼1–3 Myr old) Lupus star-forming region, including 0.89 1.33 and 3 mm flux densities when available. We measure disk dust masses that are ∼1.5–6 times higher than when using the commonly adopted disk dust mass equation under the assumption of optically thin emission in the (sub)millimeter range. The cause of this discrepancy is that most disks are optically thick at millimeter wavelengths, even up to 3 mm, demonstrating that observations at longer wavelengths are needed to trace the fully optically thin emission of disks.</jats:p>

Description

Keywords

5109 Space Sciences, 51 Physical Sciences, 5101 Astronomical Sciences, Lupus, Autoimmune Disease

Journal Title

Astrophysical Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0004-637X
1538-4357

Volume Title

942

Publisher

American Astronomical Society
Sponsorship
NASA ∣ SMD ∣ Astrophysics Division (AD) (80NSSC20K0451)