Water deuterium fractionation in the low-mass protostar NGC1333-IRAS2A

Abstract

Context.Although deuterium enrichment of water may provide an essential piece of information in the understanding of the formation of comets and protoplanetary systems, only a few studies up to now have aimed at deriving the HDO/H2O ratio in low-mass star forming regions. Previous studies of the molecular deuteration toward the solar-type class 0 protostar, IRAS 16293-2422, have shown that the D/H ratio of water is significantly lower than other grain-surface-formed molecules. It is not clear if this property is general or particular to this source. Aims. In order to see if the results toward IRAS 16293-2422 are particular, we aimed at studying water deuterium fractionation in a second low-mass solar-type protostar, NGC1333-IRAS2A. Methods. Using the 1-D radiative transfer code RATRAN, we analyzed five HDO transitions observed with the IRAM 30 m, JCMT, and APEX telescopes. We assumed that the abundance profile of HDO in the envelope is a step function, with two different values in the inner warm (T > 100 K) and outer cold (T < 100 K) regions of the protostellar envelope. Results.The inner and outer abundance of HDO is found to be well constrained at the 3s level. The obtained HDO inner and outer fractional abundances are xHDO in = 6.6 × 10-8-1.0 × 10-7(3s) and xHDO out = 9 × 10-11-1.8 × 10-9(3s). These values are close to those in IRAS 16293-2422, which suggests that HDO may be formed by the same mechanisms in these two solar-type protostars. Taking into account the (rather poorly onstrained) H2O abundance profile deduced from Herschel observations, the derived HDO/H2O in the inner envelope is =1% and in the outer envelope it is 0.9%-18%. These values are more than one order of magnitude higher than what is measured in comets. If the same ratios apply to the protosolar nebula, this would imply that there is some efficient reprocessing of the material between the protostellar and cometary phases. Conclusions. The H2O inner fractional abundance could be further constrained by an analysis of newer observations of high-energy H 218O lines. These new observations would be required to understand water fractionation in more detail. © 2011 ESO.