Water Vapor in the Inner 25 AU of a Young Disk around a Low-Mass Protostar
Jes K. Jorgensen, Ewine F. van Dishoeck

TL;DR
This study presents the first spatially resolved observation of water vapor emission in the inner 25 AU of a young protostellar disk, revealing a warm, thin water layer with a tentative velocity gradient, indicative of disk-related processes.
Contribution
It provides the first spatially resolved detection of water vapor in a young protostellar disk, offering insights into disk composition and kinematics at early stages.
Findings
Water vapor detected within 25 AU of the protostar.
Emission suggests a thin, warm water layer in the disk.
Evidence of a velocity gradient perpendicular to outflow direction.
Abstract
Water is one of the key molecules in the physical and chemical evolution of star- and planet-forming regions. We here report the first spatially resolved observation of thermal emission of (an isotopologue of) water with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer toward the deeply embedded Class 0 protostar NGC 1333-IRAS4B. The observations of the H2-18-O 3_13-2_20 transition at 203.4 GHz resolve the emission of water toward this source with an extent of about 0.2" corresponding to the inner 25 AU (radius). The H2-18-O emission reveals a tentative velocity gradient perpendicular to the extent of the protostellar outflow/jet probed by observations of CO rotational transitions and water masers. The line is narrow, about 1 km/s (FWHM), significantly less than what would be expected for emission from an infalling envelope or accretion shock, but consistent with emission from a disk seen at a low…
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