Detection of submillimeter-wave [C I] emission in gaseous debris disks
  of 49 Ceti and Beta Pictoris
  We have detected [C I] 3P1-3P0 emissions in the gaseous debris disks of 49
Ceti and Beta Pictoris with the 10 m telescope of the Atacama Submillimeter
Telescope Experiment, which is the first detection of such emissions. The line
profiles of [C I] are found to resemble those of CO(J=3-2) observed with the
same telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. This
result suggests that atomic carbon (C) coexists with CO in the debris disks,
and is likely formed by the photodissociation of CO. Assuming an optically thin
[C I] emission with the excitation temperature ranging from 30 to 100 K, the
column density of C is evaluated to be (2.2+-0.2)x10^17 and (2.5+-0.7)x10^16
cm^-2 for 49 Ceti and Beta Pictoris, respectively. The C/CO column density
ratio is thus derived to be 54+-19 and 69+-42 for 49 Ceti and Beta Pictoris,
respectively. These ratios are higher than those of molecular clouds and
diffuse clouds by an order of magnitude. The unusually high ratios of C to CO
are likely attributed to a lack of H2 molecules needed to reproduce CO
molecules efficiently from C. This result implies a small number of H2
molecules in the gas disk; i.e., there is an appreciable contribution of
secondary gas from dust grains.
