Molecules with ALMA at Planet-forming Scales (MAPS). XIII. HCO+ and Disk Ionization Structure

We observed HCO+ J = 1 − 0 and H13CO+ J = 1 − 0 emission toward the five protoplanetary disks around IM Lup, GM Aur, AS 209, HD 163296, and MWC 480 as part of the MAPS project. HCO+ is detected and mapped at 0farcs3 resolution in all five disks, while H13CO+ is detected (S/N > 6σ) toward GM Aur and HD 163296 and tentatively detected (S/N > 3σ) toward the other disks by a matched filter analysis. Inside a radius of R ∼ 100 au, the HCO+ column density is flat or shows a central dip. At outer radii (≳100 au), the HCO+ column density decreases outward, while the column density ratio of HCO+/CO is mostly in the range of ∼10−5–10−4. We derived the HCO+ abundance in the warm CO-rich layer, where HCO+ is expected to be the dominant molecular ion. At R ≳ 100 au, the HCO+ abundance is ∼3 × 10−11 − 3 × 10−10, which is consistent with a template disk model with X-ray ionization. At the smaller radii, the abundance decreases inward, which indicates that the ionization degree is lower in denser gas, especially inside the CO snow line, where the CO-rich layer is in the midplane. Comparison of template disk models with the column densities of HCO+, N2H+, and N2D+ indicates that the midplane ionization rate is ≳10−18 s−1 for the disks around IM Lup, AS 209, and HD 163296. We also find hints of an increased HCO+ abundance around the location of dust continuum gaps in AS 209, HD 163296, and MWC 480. This paper is part of the MAPS special issue of the Astrophysical Journal Supplement