Work

Water abundance and the ortho-para ratio in the S140 photon -dominated region

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: We analyzed archival far-infrared to submillimeter Herschel PACS, SPIRE, and HIFI spectroscopic observations of the S140 photon-dominated region (PDR) to constrain the water vapor abundance and the ortho-para ratio in this region. Toward the high-mass protostar IRS1, 52 spectral lines, including 15 water lines, are detected with the PACS and SPIRE instruments. The PDR modeling suggests a UV radiation field G_0 ≃ 1 in this region. The models strongly underestimate the intensities of the high-J CO lines, which might indicate the presence of hot shocked gas associated with outflows along the line of sight, in addition to the UV irradiated gas. The spectral resolution of the PACS and SPIRE spectrometers is insufficient to separate the PDR and shock contributions. The PDR models further suggest that optically thick ground-state water lines primarily trace the surface layers of the PDR. The gas temperature in this region is predicted to be ∼ 800 K, and the water abundance with respect to hydrogen nuclei reaches ∼ 10^ 10^3 Habing units and a thermal gas pressure of 5 10^8 K,cm -3 -5 . However, the bulk of the gas-phase water is located in a more shielded region, deeper inside the PDR, with a gas temperature of ∼ 24 K and a gas-phase H_2O abundance of ∼ 10^ -7 . A comparison of the observed water line fluxes toward IRS1 with PDR model predictions shows no evidence of departures from the local thermal equilibrium ortho-para ratio at the local gas temperature that is assumed in the models. The sensitivity of the Herschel instruments was insufficient to measure the water ortho-para ratio toward the externally illuminated edge-on PDR at the surface of the S140 molecular cloud. Such observations will be possible with the next generation far-infrared spectroscopic space missions currently in development.

Source: Astronomy and Astrophysics

DOI: 10.1051/0004-6361/202660898

Authors: Dariusz C. Lis, Sofia Lawsky, Emeric Bron, Franck Le Petit, Javier R. Goicoechea

Language: English

Topic: Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,865