July 2010 • 2010A&A...518L.127M
Abstract
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Context. Circumstellar discs are ubiquitous around young stars, but rapidly dissipate their gas and dust on timescales of a few Myr. The Herschel Space Observatory allows for the study of the warm disc atmosphere, using far-infrared spectroscopy to measure gas content and excitation conditions, and far-IR photometry to constrain the dust distribution.
Aims: We aim to detect and characterize the gas content of circumstellar discs in four targets as part of the Herschel science demonstration phase.
Methods: We carried out sensitive medium resolution spectroscopy and high sensitivity photometry at λ ~ 60-190 μm using the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer instrument on the Herschel Space Observatory.
Results: We detect [OI] 63 μm emission from the young stars HD 169142, TW Hydrae, and RECX 15, but not HD 181327. No other lines, including [CII] 158 and [OI] 145, are significantly detected. All four stars are detected in photometry at 70 and 160 μm. Extensive models are presented in associated papers.
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