VLT-CRIRES SURVEY OF ROVIBRATIONAL CO EMISSION FROM PROTOPLANETARY DISKS

We present a large, comprehensive survey of rovibrational CO line emission at 4.7 mu m from 69 protoplanetary disks, obtained with CRIRES on the ESO Very Large Telescope at the highest available spectral resolving power (R = 95,000, Delta v = 3.2 km s(-1)). The CO fundamental band (Delta v = 1) is a well-known tracer of warm gas in the inner, planet-forming regions of gas-rich disks around young stars, with the lines formed in the super-heated surfaces of the disks at radii of 0.1-10 AU. Consistent with earlier studies, the presence of 100-1000 K CO is found to be ubiquitous around young stars which still retain disks. Our high spectral resolution data provide new insight into the kinematics of the inner disk gas. The observed line profiles are complex and reveal several different components. Pure double-peaked Keplerian profiles are surprisingly uncommon in our sample, beyond the frequency expected based on disk inclination. The majority of the profiles are consistent with emission from a disk plus a slow (few km s(-1)) molecular disk wind. This is evidenced by analysis of different classes as well as an overall tendency for line profiles to have excess emission on their blue side. The data support the notion that thermal molecular winds are common for young disks. Thanks to the high spectral resolution, narrow absorption lines and weak emission lines from isotopologues and from vibrationally excited levels are readily detected. In general, (CO)-C-13 lines trace cooler gas than the bulk (CO)-C-12 emission and may arise from further out in the disk, as indicated by narrower line profiles. A high fraction of the sources show vibrationally excited emission (similar to 50%) which is correlated with accretion luminosity, consistent with ultraviolet fluorescent excitation. Disks around early-type Herbig AeBe stars have narrower line profiles, on average, than their lower-mass late-type counterparts, due to their increased luminosity. Evolutionary changes in CO are also seen. Removal of the protostellar envelope between class I and II results in the disappearance of the strong absorption lines and CO ice feature characteristic of class I spectra. However, CO emission from class I and II objects are similar in detection frequency, excitation, and line shape, indicating that inner disk characteristics are established early.