A transition from H$_2$O to C$_2$H$_2$ dominated spectra with decreasing stellar luminosity

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Main Authors: Grant, Sierra L., Temmink, Milou, van Dishoeck, Ewine F., Gasman, Danny, Arabhavi, Aditya M., Tabone, Benoît, Henning, Thomas, Kamp, Inga, Garatti, Alessio Caratti o, Christiaens, Valentin, Esteve, Pacôme, Güdel, Manuel, Jang, Hyerin, Kaeufer, Till, Kurtovic, Nicolas T., Morales-Calderón, Maria, Perotti, Giulia, Schwarz, Kamber, Sellek, Andrew D., Stapper, Lucas M., Vlasblom, Marissa, Waters, L. B. F. M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Grant, Sierra L.
Temmink, Milou
van Dishoeck, Ewine F.
Gasman, Danny
Arabhavi, Aditya M.
Tabone, Benoît
Henning, Thomas
Kamp, Inga
Garatti, Alessio Caratti o
Christiaens, Valentin
Esteve, Pacôme
Güdel, Manuel
Jang, Hyerin
Kaeufer, Till
Kurtovic, Nicolas T.
Morales-Calderón, Maria
Perotti, Giulia
Schwarz, Kamber
Sellek, Andrew D.
Stapper, Lucas M.
Vlasblom, Marissa
Waters, L. B. F. M.
author_facet Grant, Sierra L.
Temmink, Milou
van Dishoeck, Ewine F.
Gasman, Danny
Arabhavi, Aditya M.
Tabone, Benoît
Henning, Thomas
Kamp, Inga
Garatti, Alessio Caratti o
Christiaens, Valentin
Esteve, Pacôme
Güdel, Manuel
Jang, Hyerin
Kaeufer, Till
Kurtovic, Nicolas T.
Morales-Calderón, Maria
Perotti, Giulia
Schwarz, Kamber
Sellek, Andrew D.
Stapper, Lucas M.
Vlasblom, Marissa
Waters, L. B. F. M.
contents The chemical composition of the inner regions of disks around young stars will determine the properties of planets forming there. Many disk physical processes drive the chemical evolution, some of which depend on/correlate with the stellar properties. We aim to explore the connection between stellar properties and inner disk chemistry, using mid-infrared spectroscopy. We use JWST-MIRI observations of a large, diverse sample of sources to explore trends between C$_2$H$_2$ and H$_2$O. Additionally, we calculate the average spectrum for the T Tauri ($M_{*}$$>$0.2 $M_{\odot}$) and very low-mass star (VLMS, $M_{*}$$\leq$0.2 $M_{\odot}$) samples and use slab models to determine the properties. We find a significant anti-correlation between the flux ratio of C$_2$H$_2$/H$_2$O and the stellar luminosity. Disks around VLMS have significantly higher $F_{\rm{C_2H_2}}$/$F_{\rm{H_2O}}$ flux ratios than their higher-mass counterparts. We also explore trends with the strength of the 10 $μ$m silicate feature, stellar accretion rate, and disk dust mass, all of which show correlations with the flux ratio, which may be related to processes driving the carbon-enrichment in disks around VLMS, but also have degeneracies with system properties. Slab model fits to the average spectra show that the VLMS H$_2$O emission is quite similar in temperature and column density to a warm ($\sim$600 K) H$_2$O component in the T Tauri spectrum, indicating that the high C/O gas phase ratio in these disks is not due to oxygen depletion alone. Instead, the presence of many hydrocarbons, including some with high column densities, points to carbon enhancement in the disks around VLMS. The observed differences in the inner disk chemistry as a function of host properties are likely to be accounted for by differences in the disk temperatures, stellar radiation field, and the evolution of dust grains.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_04692
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A transition from H$_2$O to C$_2$H$_2$ dominated spectra with decreasing stellar luminosity
Grant, Sierra L.
Temmink, Milou
van Dishoeck, Ewine F.
Gasman, Danny
Arabhavi, Aditya M.
Tabone, Benoît
Henning, Thomas
Kamp, Inga
Garatti, Alessio Caratti o
Christiaens, Valentin
Esteve, Pacôme
Güdel, Manuel
Jang, Hyerin
Kaeufer, Till
Kurtovic, Nicolas T.
Morales-Calderón, Maria
Perotti, Giulia
Schwarz, Kamber
Sellek, Andrew D.
Stapper, Lucas M.
Vlasblom, Marissa
Waters, L. B. F. M.
Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
The chemical composition of the inner regions of disks around young stars will determine the properties of planets forming there. Many disk physical processes drive the chemical evolution, some of which depend on/correlate with the stellar properties. We aim to explore the connection between stellar properties and inner disk chemistry, using mid-infrared spectroscopy. We use JWST-MIRI observations of a large, diverse sample of sources to explore trends between C$_2$H$_2$ and H$_2$O. Additionally, we calculate the average spectrum for the T Tauri ($M_{*}$$>$0.2 $M_{\odot}$) and very low-mass star (VLMS, $M_{*}$$\leq$0.2 $M_{\odot}$) samples and use slab models to determine the properties. We find a significant anti-correlation between the flux ratio of C$_2$H$_2$/H$_2$O and the stellar luminosity. Disks around VLMS have significantly higher $F_{\rm{C_2H_2}}$/$F_{\rm{H_2O}}$ flux ratios than their higher-mass counterparts. We also explore trends with the strength of the 10 $μ$m silicate feature, stellar accretion rate, and disk dust mass, all of which show correlations with the flux ratio, which may be related to processes driving the carbon-enrichment in disks around VLMS, but also have degeneracies with system properties. Slab model fits to the average spectra show that the VLMS H$_2$O emission is quite similar in temperature and column density to a warm ($\sim$600 K) H$_2$O component in the T Tauri spectrum, indicating that the high C/O gas phase ratio in these disks is not due to oxygen depletion alone. Instead, the presence of many hydrocarbons, including some with high column densities, points to carbon enhancement in the disks around VLMS. The observed differences in the inner disk chemistry as a function of host properties are likely to be accounted for by differences in the disk temperatures, stellar radiation field, and the evolution of dust grains.
title A transition from H$_2$O to C$_2$H$_2$ dominated spectra with decreasing stellar luminosity
topic Earth and Planetary Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Solar and Stellar Astrophysics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.04692