Spitzer Spectroscopy of the Transition Object TW Hya

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal 2010-03, Vol.712 (1), p.274-286
• Main Authors: Najita, Joan R, Carr, John S, Strom, Stephen E, Watson, Dan M, Pascucci, Ilaria, Hollenbach, David, Gorti, Uma, Keller, Luke
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Astronomy; ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; BINARY STARS; CARBON COMPOUNDS; CARBON DIOXIDE; CARBON OXIDES; CHALCOGENIDES; CHEMICAL REACTIONS; DECOMPOSITION; DISSOCIATION; Earth, ocean, space; ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION; ELEMENTS; EMISSION; ENERGY LEVELS; ENERGY SPECTRA; ERUPTIVE VARIABLE STARS; Exact sciences and technology; FLUIDS; GASES; HYDROCYANIC ACID; HYDROGEN; HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS; INORGANIC ACIDS; INORGANIC COMPOUNDS; IONIZING RADIATIONS; MATTER; NEON; NONMETALS; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; PHOTOCHEMICAL REACTIONS; PHOTOLYSIS; PLANETS; PROTOPLANETS; RADIATIONS; RARE GASES; SPECTRA; SPECTROSCOPY; STARS; T TAURI STARS; VARIABLE STARS; WATER; X RADIATION
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/712/1/274

We report sensitive Spitzer IRS spectroscopy in the 10-20 {mu}m region of TW Hya, a nearby T Tauri star. The unusual spectral energy distribution of the source, that of a 'transition object', indicates that the circumstellar disk in the system has experienced significant evolution, possibly as a result of planet formation. The spectrum we measure is strikingly different from that of other classical T Tauri stars reported in the literature, displaying no strong emission features of H{sub 2}O, C{sub 2}H{sub 2}, or HCN. The difference suggests that the inner planet formation region ({approx}