Observational diagnostics of gas in protoplanetary disks

Abstract

Protoplanetary disks are composed primarily of gas (99% of the mass). Nevertheless, relatively few observational constraints exist for the gas in disks. In this review, I discuss several observational diagnostics in the UV, optical, near-IR, mid-IR, and (sub)-mm wavelengths that have been employed to study the gas in the disks of young stellar objects. I concentrate in diagnostics that probe the inner 20 AU of the disk, the region where planets are expected to form. I discuss the potential and limitations of each gas tracer and present prospects for future research.

Review written for the proceedings of the conference "Origin and Evolution of Planets 2008", Ascona, Switzerland, June 29 - July 4, 2008. Date manuscript: October 2008. 17 Pages, 6 graphics, 134 references

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Cited by in corpus (12)

• Formation of Organic Molecules and Water in Warm Disk Atmospheres
• Chemical evolution of protoplanetary disks - the effects of viscous accretion, turbulent mixing and disk winds
• The structure of disks around Herbig Ae/Be stars as traced by CO ro-vibrational emission
• A survey for near-infrared H2 emission in Herbig Ae/Be stars: emission from the outer disks of HD 97048 and HD 100546
• A CO survey in planet-forming disks: characterizing the gas content in the epoch of planet formation
• Long-term variability of T Tauri stars using WASP
• New Herbig Ae/Be stars confirmed via high-resolution optical spectroscopy
• FUV Irradiation and the Heat Signature of Accretion in Protoplanetary Disk Atmospheres
• Measuring Organic Molecular Emission in Disks with Low Resolution Spitzer Spectroscopy
• The gas disk: Evolution and chemistry
• Using planet migration and dust drift to weigh protoplanetary discs
• Accretion in low-mass members of the Orion Nebula Cluster with young transition disks