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Context - Circumstellar discs are ubiquitous around young stars, but rapidly dissipate their gas and dust on timescales of a few Myr. The Herschel space observatory allows for the study of the warm disc atmosphere, using far-infrared spectroscopy to measure gas content and excitation conditions, and far-IR photometry to constrain the dust distribution. Aims - We aim to detect and characterize the gas content of circumstellar discs in four targets as part of the Herschel science demonstration phase. Methods - We carried out sensitive medium resolution spectroscopy and high sensitivity photometry at lambda ~60-190 micron using the Photodetector Array Camera and Spectrometer instrument on the Herschel space observatory. Results - We detect [OI] 63 micron emission from the young stars HD 169142, TW Hydrae, and RECX 15, but not HD 181327. No other lines, including [CII] 158 and [OI] 145, are significantly detected. All four stars are detected in photometry at 70 and 160 micron. Extensive models are presented in associated papers., Comment: Comments: 5 pages, 2 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

The Herschel GASPS Key Program is a survey of the gas phase of protoplanetary discs, targeting 240 objects which cover a large range of ages, spectral types, and disc properties. To interpret this large quantity of data and initiate self-consistent analyses of the gas and dust properties of protoplanetary discs, we have combined the capabilities of the radiative transfer code MCFOST with the gas thermal balance and chemistry code ProDiMo to compute a grid of 300 000 disc models (DENT). We present a comparison of the first Herschel/GASPS line and continuum data with the predictions from the DENT grid of models. Our objective is to test some of the main trends already identified in the DENT grid, as well as to define better empirical diagnostics to estimate the total gas mass of protoplanetary discs. Photospheric UV radiation appears to be the dominant gas-heating mechanism for Herbig stars, whereas UV excess and/or X-rays emission dominates for T Tauri stars. The DENT grid reveals the complexity in the analysis of far-IR lines and the difficulty to invert these observations into physical quantities. The combination of Herschel line observations with continuum data and/or with rotational lines in the (sub-)millimetre regime, in particular CO lines, is required for a detailed characterisation of the physical and chemical properties of circumstellar discs., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

Planets are formed in disks around young stars. With an age of ~10 Myr, TW Hya is one of the nearest T Tauri stars that is still surrounded by a relatively massive disk. In addition a large number of molecules has been found in the TW Hya disk, making TW Hya the perfect test case in a large survey of disks with Herschel-PACS to directly study their gaseous component. We aim to constrain the gas and dust mass of the circumstellar disk around TW Hya. We observed the fine-structure lines of [OI] and [CII] as part of the Open-time large program GASPS. We complement this with continuum data and ground-based 12CO 3-2 and 13CO 3-2 observations. We simultaneously model the continuum and the line fluxes with the 3D Monte-Carlo code MCFOST and the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo to derive the gas and dust masses. We detect the [OI] line at 63 micron. The other lines that were observed, [OI] at 145 micron and [CII] at 157 micron, are not detected. No extended emission has been found. Preliminary modeling of the photometric and line data assuming [12CO]/[13CO]=69 suggests a dust mass for grains with radius < 1 mm of ~1.9 times 10^-4 Msun (total solid mass of 3 times 10^-3 Msun) and a gas mass of (0.5--5) times 10^-3 Msun. The gas-to-dust mass may be lower than the standard interstellar value of 100., Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

In an effort to simultaneously study the gas and dust components of the disc surrounding the young Herbig Ae star HD 169142, we present far-IR observations obtained with the PACS instrument onboard the Herschel Space Observatory. This work is part of the Open Time Key Project GASPS, which is aimed at studying the evolution of protoplanetary discs. To constrain the gas properties in the outer disc, we observed the star at several key gas-lines, including [OI] 63.2 and 145.5 micron, [CII] 157.7 micron, CO 72.8 and 90.2 micron, and o-H2O 78.7 and 179.5 micron. We only detect the [OI] 63.2 micron line in our spectra, and derive upper limits for the other lines. We complement our data set with PACS photometry and 12/13CO data obtained with the Submillimeter Array. Furthermore, we derive accurate stellar parameters from optical spectra and UV to mm photometry. We model the dust continuum with the 3D radiative transfer code MCFOST and use this model as an input to analyse the gas lines with the thermo-chemical code ProDiMo. Our dataset is consistent with a simple model in which the gas and dust are well-mixed in a disc with a continuous structure between 20 and 200 AU, but this is not a unique solution. Our modelling effort allows us to constrain the gas-to-dust mass ratio as well as the relative abundance of the PAHs in the disc by simultaneously fitting the lines of several species that originate in different regions. Our results are inconsistent with a gas-poor disc with a large UV excess; a gas mass of 5.0 +/- 2.0 times 10^(-3) Msun is still present in this disc, in agreement with earlier CO observations., Comment: 5 pages, 3 Postscript figures, accepted for publication in the A&A Herschel special issue

We have used the Odin satellite to obtain strip maps of the ground-state rotational transitions of ortho-water and ortho-ammonia, as well as CO(5-4) and 13CO(5-4) across the PDR, and H218O in the central position. A physi-chemical inhomogeneous PDR model was used to compute the temperature and abundance distributions for water, ammonia and CO. A multi-zone escape probability method then calculated the level populations and intensity distributions. These results are compared to a homogeneous model computed with an enhanced version of the RADEX code. H2O, NH3 and 13CO show emission from an extended PDR with a narrow line width of ~3 kms. Like CO, the water line profile is dominated by outflow emission, however, mainly in the red wing. The PDR model suggests that the water emission mainly arises from the surfaces of optically thick, high density clumps with n(H2)>10^6 cm^-3 and a clump water abundance, with respect to H2, of 5x10^-8. The mean water abundance in the PDR is 5x10^-9, and between ~2x10^-8 -- 2x10^-7 in the outflow derived from a simple two-level approximation. Ammonia is also observed in the extended clumpy PDR, likely from the same high density and warm clumps as water. The average ammonia abundance is about the same as for water: 4x10^-9 and 8x10^-9 given by the PDR model and RADEX, respectively. The similarity of water and ammonia PDR emission is also seen in the almost identical line profiles observed close to the bright rim. Around the central position, ammonia also shows some outflow emission although weaker than water in the red wing. Predictions of the H2O(110-101) and (111-000) antenna temperatures across the PDR are estimated with our PDR model for the forthcoming observations with the Herschel Space Observatory., Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures, 10 tables. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics 14 November 2008

The study of warm molecular gas in the inner regions of protoplanetary disks is of key importance for the study of planet formation and especially for the transport of H2O and organic molecules to the surfaces of rocky planets/satellites. Recent Spitzer observations have shown that the mid-infrared spectra of protoplanetary disks are covered in emission lines due to water and other molecules. Here, we present a non-LTE 2D radiative transfer model of water lines in the 10-36 mum range that can be used to constrain the abundance structure of water vapor, given an observed spectrum, and show that an assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) does not accurately estimate the physical conditions of the water vapor emission zones. By applying the model to published Spitzer spectra we find that: 1) most water lines are subthermally excited, 2) the gas-to-dust ratio must be one to two orders of magnitude higher than the canonical interstellar medium ratio of 100-200, and 3) the gas temperature must be higher than the dust temperature, and 4) the water vapor abundance in the disk surface must be truncated beyond ~ 1 AU. A low efficiency of water formation below ~ 300 K may naturally result in a lower water abundance beyond a certain radius. However, we find that chemistry, may not be sufficient to produce an abundance drop of many orders of magnitude and speculate that the depletion may also be caused by vertical turbulent diffusion of water vapor from the superheated surface to regions below the snow line, where the water can freeze out and be transported to the midplane as part of the general dust settling. Such a vertical cold finger effect is likely to be efficient due to the lack of a replenishment mechanism of large, water-ice coated dust grains to the disk surface., Comment: 12 pages, accepted for publication in ApJ

Circumstellar disks provide the material reservoir for the growth of young stars and for planet formation. We combine a high-level radiative transfer program with a thermal-chemical model of a typical T Tauri star disk to investigate the diagnostic potential of the far-infrared lines of water for probing disk structure. We discuss the observability of pure rotational H2O lines with the Herschel Space Observatory, specifically the residual gas where water is mainly frozen out. We find that measuring both the line profile of the ground 110-101 ortho-H2O transition and the ratio of this line to the 312-303 and 221-212 line can provide information on the gas phase water between 5-100 AU, but not on the snow line which is expected to occur at smaller radii., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted by ApJL

Context: observations of water lines are a sensitive probe of the geometry, dynamics and chemical structure of dense molecular gas. The launch of Herschel with on board HIFI and PACS allow to probe the behaviour of multiple water lines with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution. Aims: we investigate the diagnostic value of specific water transitions in high-mass star-forming regions. As a test case, we apply our models to the AFGL2591 region. Results: in general, for models with a constant water abundance, the ground state lines, i.e., 1_(10)-1_(01), 1_(11)-0_(00), and 2_(12)-1_(01), are predicted in absorption, all the others in emission. This behaviour changes for models with a water abundance jump profile in that the line profiles for jumps by a factor of ~10-100 are similar to the line shapes in the constant abundance models, whereas larger jumps lead to emission profiles. Asymmetric line profiles are found for models with a cavity outflow and depend on the inclination angle. Models with an outflow cavity are favoured to reproduce the SWAS observations of the 1_(10)-1_(01) ground-state transition. PACS spectra will tell us about the geometry of these regions, both through the continuum and through the lines. Conclusions: it is found that the low-lying transitions of water are sensitive to outflow features, and represent the excitation conditions in the outer regions. High-lying transitions are more sensitive to the adopted density and temperature distribution which probe the inner excitation conditions. The Herschel mission will thus be very helpful to constrain the physical and chemical structure of high-mass star-forming regions such as AFGL2591., Comment: accpeted for publication in A&A, 12 pages, 7 figures

Context: Existing SWAS observations and future HIFI/Herschel data require a clear sense of the information content of water emission and absorption lines. Aims: Investigate wether the ground-state transition of ortho-H2O, 1_(10)-1_(01), at 557GHz can be used to measure the column density throughout an interstellar cloud. Methods: We make use of a multi-zone escape probability code suitable for the treatment of molecular line emission. Results: For low abundances, i.e., X(H2O)=<10^(-9), the intensity of the 1_(10)-1_(01) transition scales with the total column of H2. However, this relationship breaks down with increasing abundance, i.e., optical depth, due to line trapping and -- for T_(dust)>=25K, X(H2O)=<10^(-8) and n~10^4 cm^(-3) -- absorption of the dust continuum. Conclusions: An observed decline in intensity per column, expected if H2O is a surface tracer, does not necessarily mean that the water is absent in the gas phase at large columns, but can be caused by line trapping and subsequent collisional de-excitation. To determine the amount of water vapour in the interstellar medium, multiple line measurements of optically thin transitions are needed to disentangle radiative transfer and local excitation effects., Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures

A radiative transfer method for the treatment of molecular lines is presented. We apply this method to previous SWAS and ISO observations of water vapor in the source S140 in order to make models to plan for, and to interpret, HIFI data. Level populations are calculated with the use of a three-dimensional (multi-zone) escape probability method and with a long characteristic code that uses Monte Carlo techniques with fixed directions. Homogeneous and inhomogeneous models are used to compute the differences between water line profiles across the S140 region. We find that when an outflow or infall velocity field with a gradient of a few kms^{-1} is adopted, line profiles with a FWHM of 6 kms^{-1} are found, in agreement with observations. Inhomogeneous models are favoured to produce a single-peaked line profile. When zooming in on smaller regions within the PDR, the shapes of the line profiles start to differ due to the different temperature and density distributions there. The embedded sources are traced by high excitation lines of, e.g., 3_{21}-2_{21}, 3_{03}-2_{12}, 2_{12}-1_{01} and 2_{20}-1_{11}. The computed intensities are roughly consistent with existing ISO observations. Water emission in a PDR source like S140 requires a combination of a pure PDR and an embedded source in order to match the observations. Because of its good angular resolution, HIFI will be able to distinguish between a dense star forming region or a more diffuse gas component. It is therefore important for future observing programs to consider both in their predictions of the emission characteristics of water in these environments.

We consider the excitation of water in the Photon Dominated Region (PDR). With the use of a three-dimensional escape probability method we compute the level populations of ortho- and para-H_2O up to 350 K (i.e., 8 levels), as well as line intensities for various transitions. Homogeneous and inhomogeneous models are presented with densities of 10^4-10^5 cm^{-3} and the differences between the resulting intensities are displayed. Density, temperature, and abundance distributions inside the cloud are computed with the use of a self-consistent physi-chemical (in)homogeneous model in order to reproduce the line intensities observed with SWAS, and to make predictions for various lines that HIFI will probe in the future. Line intensities vary from 10^{-13} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} sr^{-1} to a few times 10^{-6} erg cm^{-2} s^{-1} sr^{-1}. We can reproduce the intensity for the 1_{10}-1_{01} line observed by the SWAS satellite. It is found that the 2_{12}-1_{01} line is the strongest, whereas the 3_{12}-2_{21} line is the weakest, in all the models. It is found that the 1_{10}-1_{01} line probes the total column, while higher excitation lines probe the higher density gas (e.g., clumps)., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures