Agenda:
1:00-1:10. Rita, Introduction
1:10-1:45, Feryal Ozel, SPRITE mission: Black Hole science with millimeter interferometry from space
1:45-2:20, Caroline Kilbourne, ExCEED: Explorer of Cosmic Ecosystems and Energetic Dynamics, Cosmic dynamics from stars to galaxy clusters
2:20-2:55, David Leisawitz, SPICE mission: Co-evolution of galaxies and their central supermassive black holes
2:55-3:30, Peter Kurczynski, CombSat: Earth-like exoplanets, stars, and fundamental physics with laser frequency combs

Solid carbon and planet wedding in the inner region of protoplanetary disks
Bruno Lopez (Lagrange Laboratory, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azu)

Although the carbon is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe and of essential importance to life, the pathway followed by carbon from the interstellar medium to the planet-forming dust in protoplanetary disk environments, the analogues of our early Solar System, is poorly understood. As a puzzling fact, the inner Solar System is depleted in refractory carbon compared to the interstellar medium. This depletion most likely took place during the protoplanetary disk phase.

In this context, one of our challenges is to understand whether a solid carbon depletion is a common situation in the very inner region of protoplanetary disk at the stage when planets are forming. We use interferometric techniques involving the MATISSE instrument at the VLTI to reach the required angular resolution of the astronomical unit (au) scale. I will present our results and their interpretation focusing on two solid carbon tracers and two sources presenting their spectral signatures in the mid-infrared: HD169142 with its PAHs emission and HD97048 with its nano-diamonds.

Please join us for the SED Director’s Seminar. Hosted by the Gravitational Astrophysics Laboratory, Code 663!