Protoplanetary disks and hard X-rays

The physics of protoplanetary disks and the early stages of planet formation is strongly affected by the level of ionization of the largely-neutral gas (Armitage 2009; Balbus 2009). Where the ionization fraction is above some limit around ~ 10−12, the magnetorotational instability (MRI) will ensue and the gas will become turbulent. The presence or absence of disk turbulence at various locations and times has profound implications for viscosity, accretion, dust settling, protoplanet migration and other physical processes. The dominant source of ionization is very likely X-rays from the host star (Glassgold et al. 2000). X-ray emission is elevated in all pre-main sequence stars primarily due to the magnetic reconnection flares similar to, but much more powerful and frequent than, flares on the surface of the contemporary Sun (Feigelson et al. 2007).