Surface temperature of protoplanetary disks probed by annealing experiments reflecting Spitzer observations

Abstract

Pyroxenes and olivines are the dominant crystalline silicates observed in protoplanetary disks. Recent spectral observations from the Spitzer Space Telescope indicate that the abundance of olivine, generally associated with silica polymorphs, relative to pyroxene is higher in the outer cold part of the disk than in the inner warmer part. The interpretation of these unexpected results requires a comprehensive knowledge of the thermal processing of Mg-rich silicate dust. In this respect, amorphous analogs were thermally annealed to identify microscopic crystallization mechanisms. We show that pyroxenes are not produced in significant proportions below the glass transition temperature of the amorphous precursor. The annealing of amorphous enstatite leads to a mineralogical assemblage dominated by forsterite, with only minute amounts of pyroxenes at temperatures as high as the glass transition temperature of enstatite (1050 K). The decoupling of cation mobility in amorphous silicates, favors the crystallization of the most Mg-enriched silicates. These results are consistent with Spitzer observations of silicate dust and also with the documented mineralogy of presolar silicates, making the low-temperature annealing a likely formation process for these objects. Based on these laboratory experiments and Spitzer observations, it appears that the reported zoned mineralogy may directly records and calibrates the thermal gradient at the scale of protoplanetary disks. © 2009. The American Astronomical Society.