On Protostellar Disks in Herbig Ae/Be Stars

Abstract

The spectral shape of IR emission from Herbig Ae/Be stars has been invoked as evidence for accretion disks around high-mass protostars. Instead, we present here models based on spherical envelopes with $r^{-1.5}$ dust density profile that successfully explain the observed spectral shapes. The spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of eight primary candidates for protostellar disks are fitted in detail for all wavelengths available, from visual to far IR. The only envelope property adjusted in individual sources is the overall visual optical depth, and it ranges from 0.3 to 3. In each case, our models properly reproduce the data for both IR excess, visual extinction and reddening. The success of our models shows that accretion disks cannot make a significant contribution to the radiation observed in these pre-main sequence stars.

10 pages, 2 Postscript figures (included), uses aaspp4.sty. To appear in Astrophysical Journal Letters

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