American Astronomical Society, Astrophysical Journal Letters, 1(756), p. L23, 2012
DOI: 10.1088/2041-8205/756/1/l23
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Far-ultraviolet (FUV) radiation plays an important role in determining chemical abundances in protoplanetary disks. H I Lyman {alpha} (Ly{alpha}) is suspected to be the dominant component of the FUV emission from Classical T Tauri Stars (CTTSs), but is difficult to measure directly due to circumstellar and interstellar H I absorption. To better characterize the intrinsic Ly{alpha} radiation, we present FUV spectra of 14 CTTSs taken with the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph and Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph instruments. H{sub 2} fluorescence, commonly seen in the spectra of CTTSs, is excited by Ly{alpha} photons, providing an indirect measure of the Ly{alpha} flux incident upon the warm disk surface. We use observed H{sub 2} progression fluxes to reconstruct the CTTS Ly{alpha} profiles. The Ly{alpha} flux correlates with total measured FUV flux, in agreement with an accretion-related source of FUV emission. With a geometry-independent analysis, we confirm that in accreting T Tauri systems Ly{alpha} radiation dominates the FUV flux ({approx}1150 A -1700 A). In the systems surveyed this one line comprises 70%-90% of the total FUV flux.