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At least 613 records · Page 34

Three-dimensional tomographic imaging for dynamic radiation behavior study using infrared imaging video bolometers in large helical device plasma

A three-dimensional (3D) tomography system using four InfraRed imaging Video Bolometers (IRVBs) has been designed with a helical periodicity assumption for the purpose of plasma radiation measurement in the large helical device. For the spatial inversion of large sized arrays, the system has been numerically and experimentally examined using the Tikhonov regularization with the criterion of minimum generalized cross validation, which is the standard solver of inverse problems. The 3D transport code EMC3-EIRENE for impurity behavior and related radiation has been used to produce phantoms for numerical tests, and the relative calibration of the IRVB images has been carried out with a simple function model of the decaying plasma in a radiation collapse. The tomography system can respond to temporal changes in the plasma profile and identify the 3D dynamic behavior of radiation, such as the radiation enhancement that starts from the inboard side of the torus, during the radiation collapse. The reconstruction results are also consistent with the output signals of a resistive bolometer. These results indicate that the designed 3D tomography system is available for the 3D imaging of radiation. The first 3D direct tomographic measurement of a magnetically confined plasma has been achieved.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Ring laser gyroscopes in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratories

Gyroscopes IN GEneral Relativity (GINGER) is a proposed experiment with the aim of measuring the gravito-electric (known also as De Sitter effect) and gravito-magnetic effects (or Lense – Thirrings effect) in a ground laboratory, foreseen by general relativity, through an array of large dimension ring laser gyroscopes. The site is located inside the Gran Sasso laboratories (LNGS) of INFN, under more than one thousand meter underground, well protected from surface perturbations. GINGERINO is a square ring-laser prototype with 3.6 m side, which has been built to investigate the level of noise of this site. GINGERINO has already completed its task, showing the advantage of the underground location. It cannot reach the sensitivity suitable for the fundamental physics measurements, but it can provide important data for geophysics and seismology. Its high sensitivity in the frequency band of fraction of Hz and its location in a seismically active area make it suitable for seismology studies. It recorded a sequence of central Italy earthquakes in the autumn of 2016 and many other events both from near field and from far field. The analysis of 90 days of continuous operation shows that its duty cycle is higher than 95 %, with a quantum shot noise limit of the order of 10{sup −10} rad s{sup −1} Hz{sup −1/2}. (paper)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Fast radial flows in transition disk holes

Protoplanetary 'transition' disks have large, mass-depleted central cavities, yet also deliver gas onto their host stars at rates comparable to disks without holes. The paradox of simultaneous transparency and accretion can be explained if gas flows inward at much higher radial speeds inside the cavity than outside the cavity, since surface density (and by extension optical depth) varies inversely with inflow velocity at fixed accretion rate. Radial speeds within the cavity might even have to approach free-fall values to explain the huge surface density contrasts inferred for transition disks. We identify observational diagnostics of fast radial inflow in channel maps made in optically thick spectral lines. Signatures include (1) twisted isophotes in maps made at low systemic velocities and (2) rotation of structures observed between maps made in high-velocity line wings. As a test case, we apply our new diagnostic tools to archival Atacama Large Millimeter Array data on the transition disk HD 142527 and uncover evidence for free-fall radial velocities inside its cavity. Although the observed kinematics are also consistent with a disk warp, the radial inflow scenario is preferred because it predicts low surface densities that appear consistent with recent observations of optically thin CO isotopologues in this disk. How material in the disk cavity sheds its angular momentum wholesale to fall freely onto the star is an unsolved problem; gravitational torques exerted by giant planets or brown dwarfs are briefly discussed as a candidate mechanism.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Synthetic observations of the evolution of starless cores in a molecular cloud simulation: Comparisons with JCMT data and predictions for alma

Interpreting the nature of starless cores has been a prominent goal in star formation for many years. In order to characterize the evolutionary stages of these objects, we perform synthetic observations of a numerical simulation of a turbulent molecular cloud. We find that nearly all cores that we detect are associated with filaments and eventually form protostars. We conclude that observed starless cores that appear Jeans unstable are only marginally larger than their respective Jeans masses (within a factor of three). We note single dish observations such as those performed with the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope appear to miss significant core structure on small scales because of beam averaging. Finally, we predict that interferometric observations with Atacama Large Millimeter Array Cycle 1 will resolve the important small-scale structure, which has so far been missed by millimeter wavelength observations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Circumstellar disks around binary stars in Taurus

We have conducted a survey of 17 wide (>100 AU) young binary systems in Taurus with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) at two wavelengths. The observations were designed to measure the masses of circumstellar disks in these systems as an aid to understanding the role of multiplicity in star and planet formation. The ALMA observations had sufficient resolution to localize emission within the binary system. Disk emission was detected around all primaries and 10 secondaries, with disk masses as low as 10{sup –4} M {sub ☉}. We compare the properties of our sample to the population of known disks in Taurus and find that the disks from this binary sample match the scaling between stellar mass and millimeter flux of F{sub mm}∝M{sub ∗}{sup 1.5--2.0} to within the scatter found in previous studies. We also compare the properties of the primaries to those of the secondaries and find that the secondary/primary stellar and disk mass ratios are not correlated; in three systems, the circumsecondary disk is more massive than the circumprimary disk, counter to some theoretical predictions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of the Orion proplyds

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of protoplanetary disks ('proplyds') in the Orion Nebula Cluster. We imaged five individual fields at 856 μm containing 22 Hubble Space Telescope (HST)-identified proplyds and detected 21 of them. Eight of those disks were detected for the first time at submillimeter wavelengths, including the most prominent, well-known proplyd in the entire Orion Nebula, 114-426. Thermal dust emission in excess of any free-free component was measured in all but one of the detected disks, and ranged between 1 and 163 mJy, with resulting disk masses of 0.3-79 M {sub jup}. An additional 26 stars with no prior evidence of associated disks in HST observations were also imaged within the 5 fields, but only 2 were detected. The disk mass upper limits for the undetected targets, which include OB stars, θ{sup 1} Ori C, and θ{sup 1} Ori F, range from 0.1 to 0.6 M {sub jup}. Combining these ALMA data with previous Submillimeter Array observations, we find a lack of massive (≳3 M {sub jup}) disks in the extreme-UV-dominated region of Orion, within 0.03 pc of θ{sup 1} Ori C. At larger separations from θ{sup 1} Ori C, in the far-UV-dominated region, there is a wide range of disk masses, similar to what is found in low-mass star forming regions. Taken together, these results suggest that a rapid dissipation of disk masses likely inhibits potential planet formation in the extreme-UV-dominated regions of OB associations, but leaves disks in the far-UV-dominated regions relatively unaffected.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

The rest-frame submillimeter spectrum of high-redshift, dusty, star-forming galaxies

We present the average rest-frame spectrum of high-redshift dusty, star-forming galaxies from 250 to 770 GHz. This spectrum was constructed by stacking Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) 3 mm spectra of 22 such sources discovered by the South Pole Telescope and spanning z = 2.0-5.7. In addition to multiple bright spectral features of {sup 12}CO, [C I], and H{sub 2}O, we also detect several faint transitions of {sup 13}CO, HCN, HNC, HCO{sup +}, and CN, and use the observed line strengths to characterize the typical properties of the interstellar medium of these high-redshift starburst galaxies. We find that the {sup 13}CO brightness in these objects is comparable to that of the only other z > 2 star-forming galaxy in which {sup 13}CO has been observed. We show that the emission from the high-critical density molecules HCN, HNC, HCO{sup +}, and CN is consistent with a warm, dense medium with T {sub kin} ∼ 55 K and n{sub H{sub 2}}≳10{sup 5.5} cm{sup –3}. High molecular hydrogen densities are required to reproduce the observed line ratios, and we demonstrate that alternatives to purely collisional excitation are unlikely to be significant for the bulk of these systems. We quantify the average emission from several species with no individually detected transitions, and find emission from the hydride CH and the linear molecule CCH for the first time at high redshift, indicating that these molecules may be powerful probes of interstellar chemistry in high-redshift systems. These observations represent the first constraints on many molecular species with rest-frame transitions from 0.4 to 1.2 mm in star-forming systems at high redshift, and will be invaluable in making effective use of ALMA in full science operations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of warm molecular gas and cold dust in NGC 34

We present Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) Cycle-0 observations of the CO (6-5) line emission (rest-frame frequency = 691.473 GHz) and of the 435 μm dust continuum emission in the nuclear region of NGC 34, a local luminous infrared galaxy at a distance of 84 Mpc (1'' = 407 pc) which contains a Seyfert 2 active galactic nucleus (AGN) and a nuclear starburst. The CO emission is well resolved by the ALMA beam (0.''26 × 0.''23), with an integrated flux of f {sub CO(6-5)} = 1004 (± 151) Jy km s{sup –1}. Both the morphology and kinematics of the CO (6-5) emission are rather regular, consistent with a compact rotating disk with a size of 200 pc. A significant emission feature is detected on the redshifted wing of the line profile at the frequency of the H{sup 13}CN (8-7) line, with an integrated flux of 17.7 ± 2.1(random) ± 2.7(systematic) Jy km s{sup –1}. However, it cannot be ruled out that the feature is due to an outflow of warm dense gas with a mean velocity of 400 km s{sup –1}. The continuum is resolved into an elongated configuration, and the observed flux corresponds to a dust mass of M {sub dust} = 10{sup 6.97±0.13} M {sub ☉}. An unresolved central core (radius ≅ 50 pc) contributes 28% of the continuum flux and 19% of the CO (6-5) flux, consistent with insignificant contributions of the AGN to both emissions. Both the CO (6-5) and continuum spatial distributions suggest a very high gas column density (≳ 10{sup 4} M {sub ☉} pc{sup –2}) in the nuclear region at radius ≲ 100 pc.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of a candidate molecular outflow in an obscured quasar

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array CO (1-0) and CO (3-2) observations of SDSS J135646.10+102609.0, an obscured quasar and ultra-luminous infrared galaxy with two merging nuclei and a known 20 kpc scale ionized outflow. The total molecular gas mass is M{sub mol}≈9{sub −6}{sup +19}×10{sup 8} M{sub ☉}, mostly distributed in a compact rotating disk at the primary nucleus (M{sub mol} ≈ 3 × 10{sup 8} M{sub ☉}) and an extended tidal arm (M{sub mol} ≈ 5 × 10{sup 8} M{sub ☉}). The tidal arm is one of the most massive molecular tidal features known; we suggest that it is due to the lower chance of shock dissociation in this elliptical/disk galaxy merger. In the spatially resolved CO (3-2) data, we find a compact (r ≈ 0.3 kpc) high-velocity (v ≈ 500 km s{sup –1}) redshifted feature in addition to the rotation at the N nucleus. We propose a molecular outflow as the most likely explanation for the high-velocity gas. The outflowing mass of M{sub mol} ≈ 7 × 10{sup 7} M{sub ☉} and the short dynamical time of t{sub dyn} ≈ 0.6 Myr yield a very high outflow rate of M-dot{sub mol}≈350 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1} and can deplete the gas in a million years. We find a low star formation rate (<16 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1} from the molecular content and <21 M{sub ☉} yr{sup –1} from the far-infrared spectral energy distribution decomposition) that is inadequate to supply the kinetic luminosity of the outflow ( E-dot ≈3×10{sup 43} erg s{sup –1}). Therefore, the active galactic nucleus (AGN), with a bolometric luminosity of 10{sup 46} erg s{sup –1}, likely powers the outflow. The momentum boost rate of the outflow ( p-dot /(L{sub bol}/c)≈3) is lower than typical molecular outflows associated with AGNs, which may be related to its compactness. The molecular and ionized outflows are likely two distinct bursts induced by episodic AGN activity which varies on a timescale of 10{sup 7} yr.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A study of dynamical processes in the Orion KL region using ALMA—probing molecular outflow and inflow

This work reports high spatial resolution observations toward the Orion KL region with high critical density lines of CH{sub 3}CN (12{sub 4}-11{sub 4}) and CH{sub 3}OH (8{sub –1,8}-7{sub 0,7}), as well as a continuum at ∼1.3 mm band. The observations were made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array with a spatial resolution of ∼1.''5 and sensitivity of about 0.07 K and ∼0.18 K for continuum and line, respectively. The observational results showed that the gas in the Orion KL region consists of jet-propelled cores at the ridge and dense cores east and south of the region that are shaped like a wedge ring. The outflow has multiple lobes, which may originate from an explosive ejection, and is not driven by young stellar objects. Four infrared bubbles were found in the Spitzer/IRAC emissions. These bubbles, the distributions of the previously found H{sub 2} jets, the young stellar objects, and molecular gas suggest that BN is the explosive center. The burst time was estimated to be ≤1300 yr. At the same time, signatures of gravitational collapse toward Source I and the hot core were detected with material infall velocities of 1.5 km s{sup –1} and ∼0.6 km s{sup –1}, corresponding to mass accretion rates of 1.2 × 10{sup –3} M {sub ☉}/yr and 8.0 × 10{sup –5} M {sub ☉}/yr, respectively. These observations may support the belief that high-mass stars form via the accretion model, similar to their low-mass counterparts.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of the T Tauri binary system AS 205: evidence for molecular winds and/or binary interactions

In this study, we present high-resolution millimeter observations of the dust and gas disk of the T Tauri star AS 205 N and its companion, AS 205 S, obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter Array. The gas disk around AS 205 N, for which infrared emission spectroscopy demonstrates significant deviations from Keplerian motion that has been interpreted as evidence for a disk wind, also displays significant deviations from Keplerian disk emission in the observations presented here. Detections near both AS 205 N and S are obtained in 1.3 mm continuum, {sup 12}CO 2-1, {sup 13}CO 2-1, and C{sup 18}O 2-1. The {sup 12}CO emission is extended up to ∼2'' from AS 205 N, and both {sup 12}CO and {sup 13}CO display deviations from Keplerian rotation at all angular scales. Two possible explanations for these observations hold up best to close scrutiny—tidal interaction with AS 205 S or disk winds (or a combination of the two)—and we discuss these possibilities in some detail.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A substellar-mass protostar and its outflow of IRAS 15398–3359 revealed by subarcsecond-resolution observations of H{sub 2}CO and CCH

Subarcsecond (0.''5) images of H{sub 2}CO and CCH line emission have been obtained in the 0.8 mm band toward the low-mass protostar IRAS 15398–3359 in the Lupus 1 cloud as one of the Cycle 0 projects of the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array. We have detected a compact component concentrated in the vicinity of the protostar and a well-collimated outflow cavity extending along the northeast-southwest axis. The inclination angle of the outflow is found to be about 20°, or almost edge-on, based on the kinematic structure of the outflow cavity. This is in contrast to previous suggestions of a more pole-on geometry. The centrally concentrated component is interpreted by use of a model of the infalling rotating envelope with the estimated inclination angle and the mass of the protostar is estimated to be less than 0.09 M {sub ☉}. Higher spatial resolution data are needed to infer the presence of a rotationally supported disk for this source, hinted at by a weak high-velocity H{sub 2}CO emission associated with the protostar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of a misaligned binary protoplanetary disk system in Orion

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of a wide binary system in Orion, with projected separation 440 AU, in which we detect submillimeter emission from the protoplanetary disks around each star. Both disks appear moderately massive and have strong line emission in CO 3-2, HCO{sup +} 4-3, and HCN 3-2. In addition, CS 7-6 is detected in one disk. The line-to-continuum ratios are similar for the two disks in each of the lines. From the resolved velocity gradients across each disk, we constrain the masses of the central stars, and show consistency with optical-infrared spectroscopy, both indicative of a high mass ratio ∼9. The small difference between the systemic velocities indicates that the binary orbital plane is close to face-on. The angle between the projected disk rotation axes is very high, ∼72°, showing that the system did not form from a single massive disk or a rigidly rotating cloud core. This finding, which adds to related evidence from disk geometries in other systems, protostellar outflows, stellar rotation, and similar recent ALMA results, demonstrates that turbulence or dynamical interactions act on small scales well below that of molecular cores during the early stages of star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Formation of a Keplerian disk in the infalling envelope around L1527 IRS: transformation from infalling motions to Kepler motions

We report Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) cycle 0 observations of the C{sup 18}O (J = 2-1), SO (J{sub N} = 6{sub 5}-5{sub 4}), and the 1.3 mm dust continuum toward L1527 IRS, a class 0 solar-type protostar surrounded by an infalling and rotating envelope. C{sup 18}O emission shows strong redshifted absorption against the bright continuum emission associated with L1527 IRS, strongly suggesting infall motions in the C{sup 18}O envelope. The C{sup 18}O envelope also rotates with a velocity mostly proportional to r {sup –1}, where r is the radius, whereas the rotation profile at the innermost radius (∼54 AU) may be shallower than r {sup –1}, suggestive of formation of a Keplerian disk around the central protostar of ∼0.3 M {sub ☉} in dynamical mass. SO emission arising from the inner part of the C{sup 18}O envelope also shows rotation in the same direction as the C{sup 18}O envelope. The rotation is, however, rigid-body-like, which is very different from the differential rotation shown by C{sup 18}O. In order to explain the line profiles and the position-velocity (PV) diagrams of C{sup 18}O and SO observed, simple models composed of an infalling envelope surrounding a Keplerian disk of 54 AU in radius orbiting a star of 0.3 M {sub ☉} are examined. It is found that in order to reproduce characteristic features of the observed line profiles and PV diagrams, the infall velocity in the model has to be smaller than the free-fall velocity yielded by a star of 0.3 M {sub ☉}. Possible reasons for the reduced infall velocities are discussed.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

ALMA observations of the host galaxy of GRB 090423 at z = 8.23: deep limits on obscured star formation 630 million years after the big bang

We present rest-frame far-infrared (FIR) and optical observations of the host galaxy of GRB 090423 at z = 8.23 from the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) and the Spitzer Space Telescope, respectively. The host remains undetected to 3σ limits of F {sub ν}(222 GHz) ≲ 33 μJy and F {sub ν}(3.6 μm) ≲ 81 nJy. The FIR limit is about 20 times fainter than the luminosity of the local ULIRG Arp 220 and comparable to the local starburst M 82. Comparing this with model spectral energy distributions, we place a limit on the infrared (IR) luminosity of L {sub IR}(8-1000 μm) ≲ 3 × 10{sup 10} L {sub ☉}, corresponding to a limit on the obscured star formation rate of SFR{sub IR}≲5 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. For comparison, the limit on the unobscured star formation rate from Hubble Space Telescope rest-frame ultraviolet (UV) observations is SFR{sub UV} ≲ 1 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. We also place a limit on the host galaxy stellar mass of M {sub *} ≲ 5 × 10{sup 7} M {sub ☉} (for a stellar population age of 100 Myr and constant star formation rate). Finally, we compare our millimeter observations to those of field galaxies at z ≳ 4 (Lyman break galaxies, Lyα emitters, and submillimeter galaxies) and find that our limit on the FIR luminosity is the most constraining to date, although the field galaxies have much larger rest-frame UV/optical luminosities than the host of GRB 090423 by virtue of their selection techniques. We conclude that GRB host galaxies at z ≳ 4, especially those with measured interstellar medium metallicities from afterglow spectroscopy, are an attractive sample for future ALMA studies of high redshift obscured star formation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

revealing H{sub 2}D{sup +} depletion and compact structure in starless and protostellar cores with ALMA

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the submillimeter dust continuum and H{sub 2}D{sup +} 1{sub 10}-1{sub 11} emission toward two evolved, potentially protostellar cores within the Ophiuchus molecular cloud, Oph A SM1 and SM1N. The data reveal small-scale condensations within both cores, with mass upper limits of M ≲ 0.02 M {sub ☉} (∼20 M {sub Jup}). The SM1 condensation is consistent with a nearly symmetric Gaussian source with a width of only 37 AU. The SM1N condensation is elongated and extends 500 AU along its major axis. No evidence for substructure is seen in either source. A Jeans analysis indicates that these sources are unlikely to fragment, suggesting that both will form single stars. H{sub 2}D{sup +} is only detected toward SM1N, offset from the continuum peak by ∼150-200 AU. This offset may be due to either heating from an undetected, young, low-luminosity protostellar source or first hydrostatic core, or HD (and consequently H{sub 2}D{sup +}) depletion in the cold center of the condensation. We propose that SM1 is protostellar and that the condensation detected by ALMA is a warm (T ∼ 30-50 K) accretion disk. The less concentrated emission of the SM1N condensation suggests that it is still starless, but we cannot rule out the presence of a low-luminosity source, perhaps surrounded by a pseudodisk. These data observationally reveal the earliest stages of the formation of circumstellar accretion regions and agree with theoretical predictions that disk formation can occur very early in the star formation process, coeval with or just after the formation of a first hydrostatic core or protostar.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

AN INFRARED-LUMINOUS MERGER WITH TWO BIPOLAR MOLECULAR OUTFLOWS: ALMA AND SMA OBSERVATIONS OF NGC 3256

We report Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array and Submillimeter Array observations of the infrared-luminous merger NGC 3256, the most luminous galaxy within z = 0.01. Both of the two merger nuclei separated by 5'' (0.8 kpc) have a molecular gas concentration, a nuclear disk, with Σ{sub mol} > 10{sup 3} M {sub ☉} pc{sup –2}. The northern nucleus is more massive and is surrounded by molecular spiral arms. Its nuclear disk is face-on, while the southern nuclear disk is almost edge-on. The high-velocity molecular gas in the system can be resolved into two molecular outflows from the two nuclei. The one from the northern nucleus is part of a starburst-driven superwind seen nearly pole-on. Its maximum velocity is >750 km s{sup –1} and its mass outflow rate is >60 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} for a conversion factor X{sub CO}=N{sub H{sub 2}}/I{sub CO(1−0)} of 1 × 10{sup 20} cm{sup –2} (K km s{sup –1}){sup –1}. The molecular outflow from the southern nucleus is a highly collimated bipolar jet seen nearly edge-on. Its line-of-sight velocity increases with distance, out to 300 pc from the nucleus, to the maximum de-projected velocity of ∼2000 km s{sup –1} for the estimated inclination and ≳1000 km s{sup –1} taking into account the uncertainty. Its mass outflow rate is estimated to be >50 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1} for the same X {sub CO}. This southern outflow has indications of being driven by a bipolar radio jet from an active galactic nucleus that recently weakened. The sum of these outflow rates, although subject to the uncertainty in the molecular mass estimate, either exceeds or compares to the total star formation rate. The feedback from nuclear activity through molecular outflows is therefore significant in the gas consumption, and hence evolution, of this system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

CO GAS INSIDE THE PROTOPLANETARY DISK CAVITY IN HD 142527: DISK STRUCTURE FROM ALMA

Inner cavities and annular gaps in circumstellar disks are possible signposts of giant planet formation. The young star HD 142527 hosts a massive protoplanetary disk with a large cavity that extends up to 140 AU from the central star, as seen in continuum images at infrared and millimeter wavelengths. Estimates of the survival of gas inside disk cavities are needed to discriminate between clearing scenarios. We present a spatially and spectrally resolved carbon monoxide isotopologue observations of the gas-rich disk HD 142527, in the J = 2-1 line of {sup 12}CO, {sup 13}CO, and C{sup 18}O obtained with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). We detect emission coming from inside the dust-depleted cavity in all three isotopologues. Based on our analysis of the gas in the dust cavity, the {sup 12}CO emission is optically thick, while {sup 13}CO and C{sup 18}O emissions are both optically thin. The total mass of residual gas inside the cavity is ∼1.5-2 M {sub Jup}. We model the gas with an axisymmetric disk model. Our best-fit model shows that the cavity radius is much smaller in CO than it is in millimeter continuum and scattered light observations, with a gas cavity that does not extend beyond 105 AU (at 3σ). The gap wall at its outer edge is diffuse and smooth in the gas distribution, while in dust continuum it is manifestly sharper. The inclination angle, as estimated from the high velocity channel maps, is 28 ± 0.5 deg, higher than in previous estimates, assuming a fix central star mass of 2.2 M {sub ☉}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗