Circumstellar molecular composition of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tau: I. Observations and LTE chemical abundance analysis

TL;DR

This study investigates the molecular composition of the circumstellar envelope of the oxygen-rich AGB star IK Tau using (sub)millimeter observations and LTE analysis, revealing molecular abundances and physical conditions that inform stellar evolution models.

Contribution

The paper provides the first comprehensive molecular survey of IK Tau's envelope in the submillimeter range, combining observations with LTE and non-LTE modeling to refine chemical abundance estimates.

Findings

34 molecular transitions detected, including masers.

Molecular abundances mostly agree with models within a factor of 10.

SO$_2$ abundance is significantly higher than predicted.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the molecular composition in the circumstellar envelope around the oxygen-rich star IK Tau. We observed IK Tau in several (sub)millimeter bands using the APEX telescope during three observing periods. To determine the spatial distribution of the $\mathrm{^{12}CO(3-2)}$ emission, mapping observations were performed. To constrain the physical conditions in the circumstellar envelope, multiple rotational CO emission lines were modeled using a non local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer code. The rotational temperatures and the abundances of the other molecules were obtained assuming local thermodynamic equilibrium. An oxygen-rich Asymptotic Giant Branch star has been surveyed in the submillimeter wavelength range. Thirty four transitions of twelve molecular species, including maser lines, were detected. The kinetic temperature of the envelope was determined and the molecular abundance fractions of the molecules were estimated. The deduced molecular abundances were compared with observations and modeling from the literature and agree within a factor of 10, except for SO$_2$, which is found to be almost a factor 100 stronger than predicted by chemical models. From this study, we found that IK Tau is a good laboratory to study the conditions in circumstellar envelopes around oxygen-rich stars with (sub)millimeter-wavelength molecular lines. We could also expect from this study that the molecules in the circumstellar envelope can be explained more faithful by non-LTE analysis with lower and higher transition lines than by simple LTE analysis with only lower transition lines. In particular, the observed CO line profiles could be well reproduced by a simple expanding envelope model with a power law structure.