Research Information System
From Atoms to Pebbles: Herschel's view of Star and Planet Formation, Grenoble, France, 20 - 23 March 2012, pp.38, (Full Text)
We present the results of a Herschel/HIFI study into the presence of cold water vapor in a sample of protoplanetary disks, carried out as part of the Guaranteed Time Key Program `Water in Star Forming Regions with Herschel' (WISH). While toward most disks only upper limits are obtained, rotational ground-state emission lines of ortho-H_2O and para-H_2O are clearly detected toward the disk of TW Hya. The detection of cold water vapor, extending to at least 115 AU, in this disk indicates the presence of a vast reservoir of water ice totalling ∼ 1028 g or thousands of Earth Oceans. Photodesorption by stellar ultraviolet radiation likely liberates a small amount of water vapor from icy grains. Significant settling of such icy grains toward the disk midplane is required to match the detected amount of water vapor. The water ortho-to-para ratio of 0.77 is significantly different from that observed in Solar System comets where a range of 1.5--3 is found. If this reflects the temperature regime of the water ice (formation), this finding suggests that long-range mixing of volatiles has occured in the Solar Nebula. The same Herschel/HIFI data also detect the emission of NH_3 in TW Hya's disk, and the implications of this finding are discussed.