Mapping Molecular Ion Distributions in a Diverse Sample of Protoplanetary Disks
10 affiliations
- 1University of Virginia
- 2University of Minnesota
- 3University of Michigan
- 4U.S. Naval Academy
- 5Harvard | Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- 6Columbia University
- 7Wesleyan University
- 8Boston University
- 9University of Georgia
- 10Iowa State University
Abstract
Observations of ionization-tracing molecules in protoplanetary disks suggest that their ionization environments are diverse due to varying degrees of cosmic-ray modulation, stellar activity, and environmental differences that alter the impact of ionizing radiation. To better understand ionization chemistry in disks, we present the largest survey of resolved observations of molecular ions to date. Using new and archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations we detect HCO ⁺ , H ¹³ CO ⁺ , N ₂ H ⁺ , and DCO ⁺ toward seven protoplanetary disks (AS 209, DM Tau, GM Aur, HD 163296, LkCa 15, MWC 480, and V4046 Sgr). We compare distributions of ions to continuum features and find no robust relationships between the two. The observations do, however, reveal distinctions between Herbigs and T Tauris and hint at a dichotomy between two types of T Tauri ionization environments. The Herbig sources exhibit unique centrally peaked N ₂ H ⁺ J = 4−3 emission, which we speculate could be tracing either a highly ionized surface layer or a zone of CO destruction, possibly due to their strong UV fields. Three T Tauri sources in our sample exhibit bright, radially coincident rings in all optically thin molecular ion lines. We speculate that these radially coincident ion rings are evidence of a global change in ionization, possibly at the edge of a “T Tauriosphere.” While it is not yet clear what factors most strongly influence the distribution of ion emission, this survey more than doubles the number of resolved ion observations in disks and points to potential distinctions in ion emission morphology related to the central star and environment.
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BibTeX
@article{long2026mapping,
title = {{Mapping Molecular Ion Distributions in a Diverse Sample of Protoplanetary Disks}},
author = {Deryl E. Long and L. Ilsedore Cleeves and Charles J. Law and Fred C. Adams and Dana E. Anderson and Sean M. Andrews and Edwin A. Bergin and Jane Huang and A. Meredith Hughes and Chunhua Qi and Kamber R. Schwarz and Jacob B. Simon and David Wilner},
journal = {The Astrophysical Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3847/1538-4357/aea6a6},
url = {https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6a6},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Mapping Molecular Ion Distributions in a Diverse Sample of Protoplanetary Disks
AU - Deryl E. Long
AU - L. Ilsedore Cleeves
AU - Charles J. Law
AU - Fred C. Adams
AU - Dana E. Anderson
AU - Sean M. Andrews
AU - Edwin A. Bergin
AU - Jane Huang
AU - A. Meredith Hughes
AU - Chunhua Qi
AU - Kamber R. Schwarz
AU - Jacob B. Simon
AU - David Wilner
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/15
JO - The Astrophysical Journal
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/aea6a6
UR - https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-4357/aea6a6
AB - Observations of ionization-tracing molecules in protoplanetary disks suggest that their ionization environments are diverse due to varying degrees of cosmic-ray modulation, stellar activity, and environmental differences that alter the impact of ionizing radiation. To better understand ionization chemistry in disks, we present the largest survey of resolved observations of molecular ions to date. Using new and archival Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations we detect HCO ⁺ , H ¹³ CO ⁺ , N ₂ H ⁺ , and DCO ⁺ toward seven protoplanetary disks (AS 209, DM Tau, GM Aur, HD 163296, LkCa 15, MWC 480, and V4046 Sgr). We compare distributions of ions to continuum features and find no robust relationships between the two. The observations do, however, reveal distinctions between Herbigs and T Tauris and hint at a dichotomy between two types of T Tauri ionization environments. The Herbig sources exhibit unique centrally peaked N ₂ H ⁺ J = 4−3 emission, which we speculate could be tracing either a highly ionized surface layer or a zone of CO destruction, possibly due to their strong UV fields. Three T Tauri sources in our sample exhibit bright, radially coincident rings in all optically thin molecular ion lines. We speculate that these radially coincident ion rings are evidence of a global change in ionization, possibly at the edge of a “T Tauriosphere.” While it is not yet clear what factors most strongly influence the distribution of ion emission, this survey more than doubles the number of resolved ion observations in disks and points to potential distinctions in ion emission morphology related to the central star and environment.
SN - 0004-637X
SN - 1538-4357
ER -