eprintid: 10095293 rev_number: 16 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/09/52/93 datestamp: 2020-05-15 15:45:12 lastmod: 2021-10-04 01:11:14 status_changed: 2020-05-15 15:45:12 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Decin, L creators_name: Agundez, M creators_name: Barlow, MJ creators_name: Daniel, F creators_name: Cernicharo, J creators_name: Lombaert, R creators_name: De Beck, E creators_name: Royer, P creators_name: Vandenbussche, B creators_name: Wesson, R creators_name: Polehampton, ET creators_name: Blommaert, JADL creators_name: De Meester, W creators_name: Exter, K creators_name: Feuchtgruber, H creators_name: Gear, WK creators_name: Gomez, HL creators_name: Groenewegen, MAT creators_name: Guelin, M creators_name: Hargrave, PC creators_name: Huygen, R creators_name: Imhof, P creators_name: Ivison, RJ creators_name: Jean, C creators_name: Kahane, C creators_name: Kerschbaum, F creators_name: Leeks, SJ creators_name: Lim, T creators_name: Matsuura, M creators_name: Olofsson, G creators_name: Posch, T creators_name: Regibo, S creators_name: Savini, G creators_name: Sibthorpe, B creators_name: Swinyard, BM creators_name: Yates, JA creators_name: Waelkens, C title: Warm water vapour in the sooty outflow from a luminous carbon star ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B04 divisions: C05 divisions: F48 divisions: C06 divisions: F60 keywords: Stars note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: 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 ∼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. date: 2010-09-02 date_type: published publisher: NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP official_url: https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09344 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 257601 doi: 10.1038/nature09344 lyricists_name: Barlow, Michael lyricists_name: Matsuura, Mikako lyricists_name: Savini, Giorgio lyricists_name: Swinyard, Bruce lyricists_name: Wesson, Roger lyricists_name: Yates, Jeremy lyricists_id: MJBAR75 lyricists_id: MMATS97 lyricists_id: GSAVI26 lyricists_id: BSWIN93 lyricists_id: RWESS64 lyricists_id: JAYAT84 actors_name: Barlow, Michael actors_id: MJBAR75 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Nature volume: 467 pagerange: 64-67 pages: 4 citation: Decin, L; Agundez, M; Barlow, MJ; Daniel, F; Cernicharo, J; Lombaert, R; De Beck, E; ... Waelkens, C; + view all <#> Decin, L; Agundez, M; Barlow, MJ; Daniel, F; Cernicharo, J; Lombaert, R; De Beck, E; Royer, P; Vandenbussche, B; Wesson, R; Polehampton, ET; Blommaert, JADL; De Meester, W; Exter, K; Feuchtgruber, H; Gear, WK; Gomez, HL; Groenewegen, MAT; Guelin, M; Hargrave, PC; Huygen, R; Imhof, P; Ivison, RJ; Jean, C; Kahane, C; Kerschbaum, F; Leeks, SJ; Lim, T; Matsuura, M; Olofsson, G; Posch, T; Regibo, S; Savini, G; Sibthorpe, B; Swinyard, BM; Yates, JA; Waelkens, C; - view fewer <#> (2010) Warm water vapour in the sooty outflow from a luminous carbon star. Nature , 467 pp. 64-67. 10.1038/nature09344 <https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09344>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10095293/1/1104.2316v1.pdf