Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
7311
pubmed:dateCreated
2010-9-2
pubmed:abstractText
The detection of circumstellar water vapour around the ageing carbon star IRC +10216 challenged the current understanding of chemistry in old stars, because water was predicted to be almost absent in carbon-rich stars. Several explanations for the water were postulated, including the vaporization of icy bodies (comets or dwarf planets) in orbit around the star, grain surface reactions, and photochemistry in the outer circumstellar envelope. With a single water line detected so far from this one carbon-rich evolved star, it is difficult to discriminate between the different mechanisms proposed. Here we report the detection of dozens of water vapour lines in the far-infrared and sub-millimetre spectrum of IRC +10216 using the Herschel satellite. This includes some high-excitation lines with energies corresponding to approximately 1,000 K, which can be explained only if water is present in the warm inner sooty region of the envelope. A plausible explanation for the warm water appears to be the penetration of ultraviolet photons deep into a clumpy circumstellar envelope. This mechanism also triggers the formation of other molecules, such as ammonia, whose observed abundances are much higher than hitherto predicted.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:status
PubMed-not-MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
1476-4687
pubmed:author
pubmed-author:AgúndezMM, pubmed-author:BarlowM JMJ, pubmed-author:BlommaertJ A D LJA, pubmed-author:CernicharoJJ, pubmed-author:DanielFF, pubmed-author:De BeckEE, pubmed-author:De MeesterWW, pubmed-author:DecioCC, pubmed-author:ExterKK, pubmed-author:FeuchtgruberHH, pubmed-author:GearW KWK, pubmed-author:GomezH LHL, pubmed-author:GroenewegenM A TMA, pubmed-author:GuélinMM, pubmed-author:HargraveP CPC, pubmed-author:HuygenRR, pubmed-author:ImhofPP, pubmed-author:IvisonR JRJ, pubmed-author:JeanCC, pubmed-author:KahanaGG, pubmed-author:KerschbaumFF, pubmed-author:LeeksS JSJ, pubmed-author:LimTT, pubmed-author:LombaertRR, pubmed-author:MatsuuraMM, pubmed-author:OlofssonGG, pubmed-author:PolehamptonE TET, pubmed-author:PoschTT, pubmed-author:RegiboSS, pubmed-author:RoyerPP, pubmed-author:SaviniGG, pubmed-author:SibthorpeBB, pubmed-author:SwinyardB MBM, pubmed-author:VandenbusscheBB, pubmed-author:WaelkensCC, pubmed-author:WessonRR, pubmed-author:YatesJ AJA
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
2
pubmed:volume
467
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
64-7
pubmed:year
2010
pubmed:articleTitle
Warm water vapour in the sooty outflow from a luminous carbon star.
pubmed:affiliation
Instituut voor Sterrenkunde, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200D, 3001 Leuven, Belgium. Leen.Decin@ster.kuleuven.be
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S., Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't