ORCID Profile
0000-0003-0386-2178
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 24-07-2023
DOI: 10.1038/S41586-023-06317-9
Abstract: Terrestrial and sub-Neptune planets are expected to form in the inner (less than 10 au ) regions of protoplanetary disks 1 . Water plays a key role in their formation 2–4 , although it is yet unclear whether water molecules are formed in situ or transported from the outer disk 5,6 . So far Spitzer Space Telescope observations have only provided water luminosity upper limits for dust-depleted inner disks 7 , similar to PDS 70, the first system with direct confirmation of protoplanet presence 8,9 . Here we report JWST observations of PDS 70, a benchmark target to search for water in a disk hosting a large (approximately 54 au ) planet-carved gap separating an inner and outer disk 10,11 . Our findings show water in the inner disk of PDS 70. This implies that potential terrestrial planets forming therein have access to a water reservoir. The column densities of water vapour suggest in-situ formation via a reaction sequence involving O, H 2 and/or OH, and survival through water self-shielding 5 . This is also supported by the presence of CO 2 emission, another molecule sensitive to ultraviolet photodissociation. Dust shielding, and replenishment of both gas and small dust from the outer disk, may also play a role in sustaining the water reservoir 12 . Our observations also reveal a strong variability of the mid-infrared spectral energy distribution, pointing to a change of inner disk geometry.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 11-05-2023
Publisher: American Astronomical Society
Date: 04-2023
Abstract: We present JWST-MIRI Medium Resolution Spectrometer (MRS) spectra of the protoplanetary disk around the low-mass T Tauri star GW Lup from the MIRI mid-INfrared Disk Survey Guaranteed Time Observations program. Emission from 12 CO 2 , 13 CO 2 , H 2 O, HCN, C 2 H 2 , and OH is identified with 13 CO 2 being detected for the first time in a protoplanetary disk. We characterize the chemical and physical conditions in the inner few astronomical units of the GW Lup disk using these molecules as probes. The spectral resolution of JWST-MIRI MRS paired with high signal-to-noise data is essential to identify these species and determine their column densities and temperatures. The Q branches of these molecules, including those of hot bands, are particularly sensitive to temperature and column density. We find that the 12 CO 2 emission in the GW Lup disk is coming from optically thick emission at a temperature of ∼400 K. 13 CO 2 is optically thinner and based on a lower temperature of ∼325 K, and thus may be tracing deeper into the disk and/or a larger emitting radius than 12 CO 2 . The derived N CO 2 / N H 2 O ratio is orders of magnitude higher than previously derived for GW Lup and other targets based on Spitzer-InfraRed-Spectrograph data. This high column density ratio may be due to an inner cavity with a radius in between the H 2 O and CO 2 snowlines and/or an overall lower disk temperature. This paper demonstrates the unique ability of JWST to probe inner disk structures and chemistry through weak, previously unseen molecular features.
Publisher: Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC)
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1039/D3FD00013C
Abstract: The Mid-InfraRed Instrument/Medium-Resolution Spectrometer (MIRI/MRS) on board the James Webb Space Telescope reveals the rich and erse chemistry in the planet forming regions around Sun-like and low-mass stars.
No related grants have been discovered for Jayatee Kanwar.