Semi-heavy water ice found around young star: What is it?

Semi-heavy water ice found around young star: What is it?

A team of astronomers from Leiden University and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory has made a groundbreaking discovery.

They have found semi-heavy water ice around a young Sun-like star for the first time.

The results were published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

This discovery strengthens the theory that some of the water in our solar system predates the formation of our Sun and planets.

How astronomers trace the origin of water

Astronomers trace the origin of water by measuring its deuteration ratio, or the fraction of water containing one deuterium atom instead of a hydrogen atom.

This is represented as HDO, also known as semi-heavy water.

A high deuteration ratio suggests that the water formed in extremely cold conditions, like dark clouds of dust, ice, and gas where stars are born.

Detection via James Webb Space Telescope

The international team of astronomers detected a high ratio of semi-heavy water ice in a protostellar envelope, the cloud of material surrounding an embryonic star.

They used the James Webb Space Telescope for their study.

This is the first time such a measurement has been made outside of the gas phase, where it can be chemically altered.

Protostar L1527 IRS and its significance

The protostar in question, L1527 IRS, is located in the Taurus constellation and is about 460 light-years away from Earth.

Its water deuteration ratio closely resembles that of some comets and the protoplanetary disk of a more evolved young star.

This suggests similar cold and ancient chemical origins for the water found in these objects.

Is water ice deuteration ratio same everywhere?

The study's co-author Ewine van Dishoeck, an astronomy professor at Leiden University, said this finding adds to the growing evidence that most water ice travels mostly unchanged from the earliest to the latest stages of star formation.

However, the water ice deuteration ratio in L1527 IRS is slightly higher than those measured in some comets and Earth's water ratio.

Various factors could account for this difference.