Deuterated water abundance in the young hot core RCW 120 S2

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Main Authors: Kirsanova, Maria. S., Farafontova, Anastasiia A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Kirsanova, Maria. S.
Farafontova, Anastasiia A.
author_facet Kirsanova, Maria. S.
Farafontova, Anastasiia A.
contents Since the emission of water molecules cannot be observed from Earth, less abundant isotopologues, such as H$_2^{18}$O and HDO, are used to trace water in star-forming regions. The main aim of this study is to determine HDO abundance in the hot core RCW 120 S2. We performed observations of the hot core in the 200-255~GHz range using the nFLASH230 receiver on the APEX telescope. Two HDO lines were detected toward RCW 120 S2. Their intensities are described by excitation temperature $286\pm2$~K and gas number density $\geq 10^9$~cm$^{-3}$. The emission originates from the hot core rather than the warm dense envelope surrounding a central young stellar object. The HDO column density ranges from $(3.9-7.9)\times10^{13}$~cm$^{-3}$ with a most probable value $5.6\times10^{13}$~cm$^{-3}$. The HDO abundance relative to hydrogen nuclei is $1.5\times10^{-9}$. This HDO abundance value is among the lowest reported for hot cores. Combined with the non-detection of the H$_2^{18}$O line, we conclude that protostellar heating in RCW 120 S2 is still in its early stages.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_21945
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deuterated water abundance in the young hot core RCW 120 S2
Kirsanova, Maria. S.
Farafontova, Anastasiia A.
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Since the emission of water molecules cannot be observed from Earth, less abundant isotopologues, such as H$_2^{18}$O and HDO, are used to trace water in star-forming regions. The main aim of this study is to determine HDO abundance in the hot core RCW 120 S2. We performed observations of the hot core in the 200-255~GHz range using the nFLASH230 receiver on the APEX telescope. Two HDO lines were detected toward RCW 120 S2. Their intensities are described by excitation temperature $286\pm2$~K and gas number density $\geq 10^9$~cm$^{-3}$. The emission originates from the hot core rather than the warm dense envelope surrounding a central young stellar object. The HDO column density ranges from $(3.9-7.9)\times10^{13}$~cm$^{-3}$ with a most probable value $5.6\times10^{13}$~cm$^{-3}$. The HDO abundance relative to hydrogen nuclei is $1.5\times10^{-9}$. This HDO abundance value is among the lowest reported for hot cores. Combined with the non-detection of the H$_2^{18}$O line, we conclude that protostellar heating in RCW 120 S2 is still in its early stages.
title Deuterated water abundance in the young hot core RCW 120 S2
topic Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21945