Carbonaceous nano-dust emission in proto-planetary discs: the aliphatic-aromatic components

Context. In the interstellar medium, carbon (nano-)grains are a major component of interstellar dust. This solid phase is more vulnerable to processing and destruction than its silicate counterpart. It exhibits a complex, size-dependent evolution that is due to interactions within different radiative and dynamical environments. Infrared signatures of these carbon nano-grains are seen in a large number of discs around Herbig HAeBe stars.Aims. We probe the composition and evolution of carbon nano-grains at the surface of (pre-)transitional proto-planetary discs around Herbig stars.Methods. We present spatially resolved infrared emission spectra obtained with the Nasmyth Adaptive Optics System (NAOS) Near-Infrared Imager and Spectrograph (CONICA) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in the 3–4 μ m range with a spatial resolution of 0.1′′, which allowed us to trace aromatic, olefinic, and aliphatic bands that are attributed to sub-nanometer hydrocarbon grains. We applied a Gaussian fitting to analyse the observed spectral signatures. Finally, we propose an interpretation in the framework of the The Heterogeneous dust Evolution Model of Interstellar Solids (THEMIS).Results. We show the presence of several spatially extended spectral features that are related to aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbon material in discs around Herbig stars, from ~10 to 50–100 au, and even in inner gaps that are devoid of large grains. The correlation and constant intensity ratios between aliphatic and aromatic CH stretching bands suggests a common nature of the carriers. Given their expected high destruction rates through UV photons, our observations suggest that they are continuously replenished at the disc surfaces.