Abstract

The gas in protoplanetary disks plays host to any number of microphysical and chemical processes. By solving the chemical network coupled to 2D radiative transfer and hydrostatic balance calculations, self-consistent steady state models can be obtained for the thermal and chemical disk structure. These models can be used as input for atomic and molecular line transfer calculations in order to predict the line emission characteristics and SED continuum for a given model. This represents a powerful tool for probing the vertical and radial structure of protoplanetary disks. I present work done with the thermo-chemical disk model ProDiMo, and outline the potential of current missions such as Herschel to constrain these models. The line emission is sensitive in general to conditions in the cool outer disk (at several hundred AU from the central object), and so can be used to probe these regions and constrain the initial conditions for planet formation.