The effect of ultra-violet photon pumping of H${}_2$ in dust-deficient protoplanetary disks

Abstract

We perform radiation hydrodynamics simulations to study the structure and evolution of a photoevaporating protoplanetary disk. Ultraviolet and X-ray radiation from the host star heats the disk surface, where H${}_2$ pumping also operates efficiently. We run a set of simulations with varying the amount of dust grains, or the dust-to-gas mass ratio, which determines the relative importance between photoelectric heating and H${}_2$ pumping. We show that H${}_2$ pumping and X-ray heating contribute stronger to the mass-loss of the disk if the dust-to-gas mass ratio is $\mathcal{D}\le 10^{-3}$.The disk mass loss rate decreases with a lower dust amount, but remains around $10^{-10-11}{M}_{\odot }{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}$. In such dust-deficient disks, H${}_2$ pumping enhances photoevaporation from the inner disk region and shapes the disk mass-loss profile. We thus argue that the late-stage disk evolution is affected by the ultra-violet H${}_2$ pumping effect. The mass-loss rates derived from our simulations can be used in the study of long-term disk evolution.

arXiv comment12 pages, 3 figures, 1 table