Impact of self-consistent X-ray radiative transfer and time-dependent irradiation

Quantify how self-consistent X-ray radiative transfer through protoplanetary disks, including X-ray scattering and absorption by dust and gas and time-dependent X-ray irradiation, changes predicted molecular abundances and mid-infrared line emission.

Background

The IRIS models do not include X-ray radiative transfer through the disk. Consequently, they omit the effects of X-ray scattering and absorption by dust and gas on the local radiation field, even though X-ray penetration can alter the disk’s thermal and chemical structure.

The authors explicitly identify the influence of these omitted processes on molecular abundances and line emission as requiring future quantification. Addressing this problem would improve the physical realism of the ProDiMo models and clarify whether the simplified treatment of stellar X-rays affects the predicted infrared diagnostics.