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Photoevaporation of Protoplanetary Disks

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Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

The physical process in which radiation from a young protostar causes the removal of gas from its circumstellar disk is called photoevaporation. Energetic stellar radiation, comprising mainly extreme ultraviolet (EUV; wavelengths from 121 nm down to 10 nm) and far ultraviolet (FUV; 200–122 nm) photons and X-rays, heats the surface layers of the gaseous disk, producing thermal pressure gradients that permit the gas to escape the gravitational potential of the disk in an expanding hydrodynamic flow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 699, Solar System Exploration Division, Code 691, Astrochemistry Laboratory, 20771, Greenbelt, MD, USA

    Steven B. Charnley

Authors
  1. Steven B. Charnley
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Correspondence to Steven B. Charnley .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Charnley, S.B. (2014). Photoevaporation of Protoplanetary Disks. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1198-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_1198-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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