2010/01/10 by J. K. Jørgensen, Jes K. Jorgensen, E. F. van Dishoeck +1 · 1 citation
Chemistry · Physics and Astronomy · #Advanced Chemical Physics Studies #Astronomy #Astrophysics #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Isotopologue #Maser #Molecular Spectroscopy and Structure #Nebula #Outflow #Physics #Planet #Plateau de Bure Interferometer #Protoplanetary disk #Protostar #RADIUS #Spectral line #Star formation #Stars #astro-ph.GA #astro-ph.SR
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/2041-8205/710/1/l72
accepted for publication in ApJ Letters; 12 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2010/01/10 · openalex publication_date 2010/01/22 · arxiv updated 2015/05/14 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Water is one of the key molecules in the physical and chemical evolution of star- and planet-forming regions. We here report the first spatially resolved observation of thermal emission of (an isotopologue of) water with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer toward the deeply embedded Class 0 protostar NGC 1333-IRAS4B. The observations of the H 18 2 O 3 1,3 –2 2,0 transition at 203.4 GHz resolve the emission of water toward this source with an extent of about 0 2 corresponding to the inner 25 AU (radius). The H 18 2 O emission reveals a tentative velocity gradient perpendicular to the extent of the protostellar outflow/jet probed by observations of CO rotational transitions and water masers. The line is narrow, ≈1 km s −1 (FWHM), significantly less than what would be expected for emission from an infalling envelope or accretion shock, but consistent with emission from a disk seen at a low inclination angle. The water column density inferred from these data suggests that the water emitting gas is a thin warm layer containing about 25 M Earth of material, 0.03% of the total disk mass traced by continuum observations.