The Excitation Conditions of CN in TW Hya
Richard Teague, Ryan Loomis
Abstract
Abstract We report observations of the cyanide anion, CN, in the disk around TW Hya covering the N = 1−0, N = 2−1, and N = 3−2 transitions. Using line-stacking techniques, 24 hyperfine transitions are detected out of the 30 within the observed frequency ranges. Exploiting the super-spectral resolution from the line-stacking method reveals the splitting of hyperfine components previously unresolved by laboratory spectroscopy. All transitions display a similar emission morphology, characterized by an azimuthally symmetric ring, peaking at ≈45 au (0.″75), and a diffuse outer tail extending out to the disk edge at ≈200 au. Excitation analyses assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) yield excitation temperatures in excess of the derived kinetic temperatures based on the local line widths for all fine-structure groups, suggesting assumptions of LTE are invalid. Using the 0D radiative transfer code RADEX , we demonstrate that such non-LTE effects may be present when the local H 2 density drops to 10 7 cm −3 and below. Comparison with models of TW Hya find similar densities at elevated regions in the disk, typically z / r ≳ 0.2, consistent with model predictions where CN is formed via vibrationally excited H 2 in the disk atmospheric layers where UV irradiation is less attenuated.