X-ray Desorption of Molecules from Grains in Protoplanetary Disks

We examine the ability of stellar X-rays to desorb molecules from grains in outer protoplanetary disks. In particular, we consider the possibility of spot heating by X-rays and examine its effectiveness, compared to whole grain heating by X-rays, in sustaining a gas phase abundance of CO. As found in previous studies, whole grain heating is effective only for small grains (< 500Å). As a result, large grains are a permanent sink of CO and whole grain heating cannot sustain an equilibrium gas phase abundance of CO. Spot heating, in which the incident X-ray deposits energy in only a restricted region of the grain volume and which may occur as a consequence of the aggregate nature of grains, proves to be more promising. Assuming that grains are comprised of many thermal subunits that are poorly connected thermally, we find that spot heating is efficient at all grain sizes if large grains are effectively “coated” with small grains . 100Å in size. We discuss the implications of X-ray spot heating for the interpretation of millimeter emission line studies of outer protoplanetary disks. Subject headings: ISM: dust, molecules—X-rays: ISM, stars—stars: circumstellar matter