Context. HD 172555 is a young A7 star belonging to the β Pictoris moving group that harbours a debris disc. The Spitzer/IRS spectrum of the source showed mid-IR features such as silicates and glassy silica species, indicating the presence of a warm dust component with small grains, which places HD 172555 among the small group of debris discs with such properties. The IRS spectrum also shows a possible emission of SiO gas. Aims. We aim to study the dust distribution in the circumstellar disc of HD 172555 and to asses the presence of gas in the debris disc. Methods. As part of the GASPS open time key programme, we obtained Herschel/PACS photometric and spectroscopic observations of the source. We analysed PACS observations of HD 172555 and modelled the spectral energy distribution with a modified blackbody and the gas emission with a two-level population model with no collisional de-excitation. Results. We report for the first time the detection of [OI] atomic gas emission at 63.18 μm in the HD 172555 circumstellar disc. We detect excesses due to circumstellar dust toward HD 172555 in the three photometric bands of PACS (70, 100, and 160 μm). We derive a large dust particle mass of (4.8 ± 0.6) × 10 −4 M ⊕ and an atomic oxygen mass of 2.5 × 10 −2 R 2 M ⊕ , where R in AU is the separation between the star and the inner disc. Thus, most of the detected mass of the disc is in the gaseous phase.

We present Herschel PACS photometry of seventeen B-to M-type stars in the 30 Myr-old Tucana-Horologium Association. This work is part of the Herschel Open Time Key Programme "Gas in Protoplanetary Systems" (GASPS). Six of the seventeen targets were found to have infrared excesses significantly greater than the expected stellar IR fluxes, including a previously unknown disk around HD30051. These six debris disks were fitted with single-temperature blackbody models to estimate the temperatures and abundances of the dust in the systems. For the five stars that show excess emission in the Hershcel PACS photometry and also have Spitzer IRS spectra, we fit the data with models of optically thin debris disks with realistic grain properties in order to better estimate the disk parameters. The model is determined by a set of six parameters: surface density index, grain size distribution index, minimum and maximum grain sizes, and the inner and outer radii of the disk. The best fitting parameters give us constraints on the geometry of the dust in these systems, as well as lower limits to the total dust masses. The HD105 disk was further constrained by fitting marginally resolved PACS 70 µm imaging.

Context Sulphur is one of the most abundant elements in the Universe (S/H∼1.3×10−5) and plays a crucial role in biological systems on Earth. The understanding of its chemistry is therefore of major importance. Aims Our goal is to complete the inventory of S-bearing molecules and their abundances in the prototypical photodissociation region (PDR) the Horsehead nebula to gain insight into sulphur chemistry in UV irradiated regions. Based on the WHISPER (Wide-band High-resolution Iram-30m Surveys at two positions with Emir Receivers) millimeter (mm) line survey, our goal is to provide an improved and more accurate description of sulphur species and their abundances towards the core and PDR positions in the Horsehead Methods The Monte Carlo Markov Chain (MCMC) methodology and the molecular excitation and radiative transfer code RADEX were used to explore the parameter space and determine physical conditions and beam-averaged molecular abundances. Results A total of 13 S-bearing species (CS, SO, SO2, OCS, H2CS – both ortho and para – HDCS, C2S, HCS+, SO+, H2S, S2H, NS and NS+) have been detected in the two targeted positions. This is the first detection of SO+ in the Horsehead and the first detection of NS+ in any PDR. We find a differentiated chemical behaviour between C-S and O-S bearing species within the nebula. The C-S bearing species C2S and o-H2CS present fractional abundances a factor of > two higher in the core than in the PDR. In contrast, the O-S bearing molecules SO, SO2, and OCS present similar abundances towards both positions. A few molecules, SO+, NS, and NS+, are more abundant towards the PDR than towards the core, and could be considered as PDR tracers. Conclusions This is the first complete study of S-bearing species towards a PDR. Our study shows that CS, SO, and H2S are the most abundant S-bearing molecules in the PDR with abundances of ∼ a few 10−9. We recall that SH, SH+, S, and S+ are not observable at the wavelengths covered by the WHISPER survey. At the spatial scale of our observations, the total abundance of S atoms locked in the detected species is < 10−8, only ∼0.1% of the cosmic sulphur abundance.

AB Aur is a Herbig Ae star hosting a well-known transitional disk. Because of its proximity and low inclination angle, it is an excellent object to study planet formation. Our goal is to investigate the chemistry and dynamics of the molecular gas component in the AB Aur disk, and its relation with the prominent horseshoe shape observed in continuum mm emission. We used the NOEMA interferometer to map with high angular resolution the J = 3-2 lines of HCO+ and HCN. By combining both, we can gain insight into the AB Aur disk structure. Chemical segregation is observed in the AB Aur disk: HCO+ shows intense emission toward the star position, at least one bright molecular bridge within the dust cavity, and ring-like emission at larger radii, while HCN is only detected in an annular ring that is coincident with the dust ring and presents an intense peak close to the dust trap. We use HCO+ to investigate the gas dynamics inside the cavity. The observed bright HCO+ bridge connects the compact central source with the outer dusty ring. This bridge can be interpreted as an accretion flow from the outer ring to the inner disk/jet system proving gas accretion through the cavity.