Spatially resolved HCN J = 4-3 and CS J = 7-6 emission from the disk around HD 142527

Abstract

The disk around HD 142527 attracts a great amount of attention compared to others because of its resolved (sub-)millimeter dust continuum that is concentrated into the shape of a horseshoe toward the north of the star. In this Letter we present spatially resolved ALMA detections of the HCN J = 4–3 and CS J = 7–6 emission lines. These lines give us a deeper view into the disk compared to the (optically thicker) CO isotopes. This is the first detection of CS J = 7–6 coming from a protoplanetary disk. Both emission lines are azimuthally asymmetric and are suppressed under the horseshoe-shaped continuum emission peak. A possible mechanism for explaining the decrease under the horseshoe-shaped continuum is the increased opacity coming from the higher dust concentration at the continuum peak. Lower dust and/or gas temperatures and an optically thick radio-continuum reduce line emission by freezing out and shielding emission from the far side of the disk.