Effects of stellar density on the photoevaporation of circumstellar discs

Author(s): Francisca Concha-Ramírez, Martijn J. C. Wilhelm, S. Portegies Zwart, Sierk E. van Terwisga, Alvaro Hacar Gonzalez
Abstract: Circumstellar discs are the precursors of planetary systems and develop shortly after their host star has formed. In their early stages, these discs are immersed in an environment rich in gas and neighbouring stars, which can be hostile for their survival. There are several environmental processes that affect the evolution of circumstellar discs, and external photoevaporation is arguably one of the most important ones. Theoretical and observational evidence point to circumstellar discs losing mass quickly when in the vicinity of massive, bright stars. In this work, we simulate circumstellar discs in clustered environments in a range of stellar densities, where the photoevaporation mass-loss process is resolved simultaneously with the stellar dynamics, stellar evolution, and the viscous evolution of the discs. Our results indicate that external photoevaporation is efficient in depleting disc masses and that the degree of its effect is related to stellar density. We find that a local stellar density lower than 100 stars pc^-2 is necessary for discs massive enough to form planets to survive for 2.0 Myr. There is an order of magnitude difference in the disc masses in regions of projected density 100 versus 10⁴ stars pc^-2. We compare our results to observations of the Lupus clouds, the Orion Nebula Cluster, the Orion Molecular Cloud-2, Taurus, and NGC 2024, and find that the trends observed between region density and disc masses are similar to those in our simulations.
Organisation(s): Department of Astrophysics
External organisation(s): Leiden University, Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie
Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
Volume: 501
Pages: 1782-1790
No. of pages: 9
ISSN: 0035-8711
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/staa3669
Publication date: 02-2021
Peer reviewed: Yes
Austrian Fields of Science 2012: 103003 Astronomy, 103004 Astrophysics
Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Space and Planetary Science
Portal url: https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/3836ef31-d941-4519-b636-e39ccd6f900a

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