MINDS: The Very Low-mass Star and Brown Dwarf Sample Hidden Water in Carbon-dominated Protoplanetary Disks

Abstract Infrared observations of the inner disks around very low-mass stars (VLMS; <0.3 M ⊙ ) have revealed a carbon-rich gas composition in the terrestrial planet-forming regions. Contrary to the typically water-rich T Tauri disk spectra, only two disks around VLMS have been observed to be water-rich among more than 10 VLMS disks observed so far with JWST/MIRI. In this Letter, we systematically search for the presence of water and other oxygen-bearing molecules in the JWST/MIRI spectra of 10 VLMS disks from the MIRI mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS). In addition to the two previously reported detections of water emission in this VLMS sample, we detect water emission in the spectra of three other sources and tentatively in one source, and we provide strong evidence for water emission in the remaining disks in the MINDS sample, most of which have bright emission from carbon-bearing molecules. We show that the C 2 H 2 emission is much stronger than that of water for sources with low luminosities, and the hydrocarbons outshine the water emission in such conditions. We propose that the appearance of water-rich versus hydrocarbon-rich spectra is related to the location of the water reservoir in the disk relative to the main hydrocarbon reservoir. Our findings indicate that the terrestrial planet-forming regions in VLMS disks have high carbon-to-oxygen ratios (C/O > 1) but can still harbor ample water, similar to those in the T Tauri disks.

Authors

Publication Details

Journal
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Published
2025-05-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/adc692
Citations
16
Primary Topic
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
18.48

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article

MINDS: The Very Low-mass Star and Brown Dwarf Sample Hidden Water in Carbon-dominated Protoplanetary Disks

Hyerin Jang, F. Lahuis, M. Guêdel, Milou Temmink et al.
16 citations
The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
18.48
article

MINDS: The Very Low-mass Star and Brown Dwarf Sample Hidden Water in Carbon-dominated Protoplanetary Disks

Hyerin Jang, F. Lahuis, M. Guêdel, Milou Temmink, J. S. Kanwar, Marissa Vlasblom, A. Caratti o Garatti, Aditya M. Arabhavi, Rens Waters, Kamber R. Schwarz, Andrew D. Sellek, E. F. van Dishoeck, Valentin Christiaens, Benoît Tabone, D. Barrado, M. Morales‐Calderón, I. Kamp, Sierra L. Grant, Giulia Perotti, Thomas Henning, Till Kaeufer, Danny Gasman, Ilaria Pascucci, Pierre-Olivier Lagage
article en
16 citations

Abstract

Abstract Infrared observations of the inner disks around very low-mass stars (VLMS; <0.3 M ⊙ ) have revealed a carbon-rich gas composition in the terrestrial planet-forming regions. Contrary to the typically water-rich T Tauri disk spectra, only two disks around VLMS have been observed to be water-rich among more than 10 VLMS disks observed so far with JWST/MIRI. In this Letter, we systematically search for the presence of water and other oxygen-bearing molecules in the JWST/MIRI spectra of 10 VLMS disks from the MIRI mid-INfrared Disk Survey (MINDS). In addition to the two previously reported detections of water emission in this VLMS sample, we detect water emission in the spectra of three other sources and tentatively in one source, and we provide strong evidence for water emission in the remaining disks in the MINDS sample, most of which have bright emission from carbon-bearing molecules. We show that the C 2 H 2 emission is much stronger than that of water for sources with low luminosities, and the hydrocarbons outshine the water emission in such conditions. We propose that the appearance of water-rich versus hydrocarbon-rich spectra is related to the location of the water reservoir in the disk relative to the main hydrocarbon reservoir. Our findings indicate that the terrestrial planet-forming regions in VLMS disks have high carbon-to-oxygen ratios (C/O > 1) but can still harbor ample water, similar to those in the T Tauri disks.

The Astrophysical Journal LettersVol. 984(2)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Space Telescope Science Institute, European Space Agency, National Research Foundation, Enterprise Ireland, Danmarks Grundforskningsfond, Swedish National Space Agency, Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS, Belgian Federal Science Policy Office, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Nuclear Safety and Security Commission, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
18.48
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