Related papers: Heavy water stratification in a low-mass protostar
Despite the low elemental deuterium abundance in the Galaxy, enhanced molecular D/H ratios have been found in the environments of low-mass star forming regions, and in particular the Class 0 protostar IRAS 16293-2422. The CHESS (Chemical…
Although deuterium enrichment of water may provide an essential piece of information in the understanding of the formation of comets and protoplanetary systems, only a few studies up to now have aimed at deriving the HDO/H2O ratio in…
The HDO/H2O ratio is a powerful diagnostic to understand the evolution of water from the first stages of star formation to the formation of planets and comets. Our aim is to determine precisely the abundance distribution of HDO towards the…
Measuring the water deuterium fractionation in the inner warm regions of low-mass protostars has so far been hampered by poor angular resolution obtainable with single-dish ground- and space-based telescopes. Observations of water…
IRAS 16293-2422 is a well studied low-mass protostar characterized by a strong level of deuterium fractionation. In the line of sight of the protostellar envelope, an additional absorption layer, rich in singly and doubly deuterated water…
Water plays a crucial role both in the interstellar medium and on Earth. To constrain its formation mechanisms and its evolution through the star formation process, the determination of the water deuterium fractionation ratios is…
The H3+ ion plays a key role in the chemistry of dense interstellar gas clouds where stars and planets are forming. The low temperatures and high extinctions of such clouds make direct observations of H3+ impossible, but lead to large…
Water is a very abundant molecule in star-forming regions. Its deuterium fractionation is an important tool for understanding its formation and evolution during the star and planet formation processes. While the HDO/H$_2$O ratio has been…
Although water is an essential and widespread molecule in star-forming regions, its chemical formation pathways are still not very well constrained. Observing the level of deuterium fractionation of OH, a radical involved in the water…
Understanding water deuterium fractionation is important for constraining the mechanisms of water formation in interstellar clouds. Observations of HDO and H$_2^{18}$O transitions were carried out towards the high-mass star-forming region…
It remains a key challenge to establish the molecular content of different components of low-mass protostars, like their envelopes and disks, and how this depends on the evolutionary stage and/or environment of the young stars. Observations…
(Abridged) The water deuterium fractionation (HDO/H$_2$O abundance ratio) has traditionally been used to infer the amount of water brought to Earth by comets. Measuring this ratio in deeply-embedded low-mass protostars makes it possible to…
The HDO/H2O abundance ratio is thought to be a key diagnostic on the evolution of water during the star- and planet-formation process and thus on its origin on Earth. We here present millimeter-wavelength high angular resolution…
We present observations of the rotational ortho-water ground transition, the two lowest para-water transitions, and the ground transition of ionised ortho-water in the archetypal starburst galaxy M82, performed with the HIFI instrument on…
Studying the physical and chemical processes leading to the formation of low-mass stars is crucial for understanding the origin of our Sun and the Solar System. In particular, analyzing the emission and absorption lines from molecules is a…
Context. Millimetric observations have measured high degrees of molecular deuteration in several species seen around low-mass protostars. The Herschel Space Telescope, launched in 2009, is now providing new measures of the deuterium…
Water is detected in environments representing every stage of star and solar system formation, but its chemical evolution throughout these stages remains poorly constrained. Deuterium ratios offer a means of probing chemical links between…
We present detailed gas-phase chemical models for the envelope of the low-mass star-forming region IRAS 16293-2422. By considering both time- and space-dependent chemistry, these models are used to study both the physical structure proposed…
The deuterium fractionation of water can serve as a tracer for the chemical and physical evolution of water during star formation and can constrain the origin of water in Solar System bodies. We determine the HDO/H$_2$O ratio in the inner…
Water is an important molecule in the chemical and thermal balance of dense molecular gas, but knowing its history through-out the various stages of the star formation is a fundamental problem. Its molecular deuteration provides us with a…