Dust composition in protoplanetary disks

In the Solar System the bulk elemental composition of the most volatile-rich Cl chondrites resembles closely that of the solar photosphere. Indeed, models that follow the condensation of a solar-composition hot gas reproduce many of the minerals and abundance trends observed in the Solar System. These are also consistent with some of the astronomical observations of dust in protoplanetary disks. Stardust grains also show approximately solar bulk composition in the measurable elements, albeit with some variations (Flynn et al 2006). Some IDPs -mainly the fine-grained, porous, and anhydrous particles - match the solar elemental 

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While the amount of dust and small particles that underwent thermal processing remains difficult to constrain both in the entire proto-solar nebula and in protoplanetary disks around other stars, in the Asteroid Belt over 80% of the pre-chondritic components have been melted. These heating events may play a crucial role in defining the bulk composition of planetesimals and planets by reprocessing much or all... 

Reading the above, one might get a pessimistic view of the possibilities of remote sensing techniques to derive the composition of cosmic dust in protoplanetary disks. However, when the limitations of the techniques are properly considered, it is possible to derive a wealth of information. The above limitations force one... 

Silicates with olivine composition (MgxFe(i x))2Si04 are common in chondrites, comets, IDPs, and in protoplanetary disks. The Mg-rich end-member of the olivine family is forsterite, also often termed as Foioo the Fe-rich end-member is fayalite (Foo). The interstellar medium contains a similar concentration of the FeO- and MgO-rich silicates (see Chapter 2). Correspondingly, amorphous silicate grains frequently have similar magnesium and iron abundances in protoplanetary disks, in cometary dust, and in chondritic IDPs. In stark contrast, crystalline dust is almost always dominated by Mg-rich grains in protoplanetary disks (e.g. Malfait et al. 1998 Bouwman etal. 2008), comet tails (e.g. Crovisier el al. 1997 Wooden et al 2004 Harker et al. 2005 Lisse et al. 2006), in the most primitive and least processed chondritic matrices, and IDPs (for a review, see Wooden et al. 2007). 

Tiny solid cosmic particles - often referred to as dust - are the ultimate source of solids from which rocky planets, planetesimals, moons, and everything on them form. The study of the dust particles genesis and their evolution from interstellar space through protoplanetary disks into forming planetesimals provides us with a bottom-up picture on planet formation. These studies are essential to understand what determines the bulk composition of rocky planets and, ultimately, to decipher the formation history of the Solar System. Dust in many astrophysical settings is readily observable and recent ground- and space-based observations have transformed our understanding on the physics and chemistry of these tiny particles. 

Abstract In this chapter we review recent advances in our understanding of the chemical and isotopic evolution of protoplanetary disks and the solar nebula. Current observational and meteoritic constraints on physical conditions and chemical composition of gas and dust in these systems are presented. A variety of chemical and photochemical processes that occur in planet-forming zones and beyond, both in the gas phase and on grain surfaces, are overviewed. The discussion is based upon radio-interferometric, meteoritic, space-borne, and laboratory-based observations, measurements and theories. Linkage between cosmochemical and astrochemical data are presented, and interesting research puzzles are discussed. 

In this chapter we focus on the composition of protoplanetary and Solar System cosmic dust. This composition is important for at least two reasons. First, it provides us with a view on the origin of planets, asteroids, and comets. Second, and maybe even more importantly, the composition of dust can be used as a tracer of dynamical processes taking place in the protoplanetary disk. Certain dust species can only be formed under special circumstances, at certain temperatures or densities. Finding these species outside of their formation area allows us to trace disk dynamics. 

Originally, the protoplanetary disk contains gas and dust with a composition similar to the parental molecular cloud. During the course of evolution, this material turns into larger bodies such as comets, asteroids, and planets. Because these disks are very opaque in their youngest phase, it is difficult to observe this process directly. However, the stellar radiation is absorbed by the gas and dust in the disk and heats the matter to typical temperatures of a few 1000 K in the inner disk regions to 10 K in the outer regions. 

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