Edwin A. Bergin, Ewine F. van Dishoeck
In this paper we discuss the astronomical search for water vapor in order to
understand the disposition of water in all its phases throughout the process of
star and planet formation. Our ability to detect and study water vapor has
recently received a tremendous boost with the successful launch and operations
of the Herschel Space Observatory. Herschel spectroscopic detections of
numerous transitions in a variety of astronomical objects, along with previous
work by other space-based observatories, will be threaded throughout this
contribution. In particular, we present observations of water tracing the
earliest stage of star birth where it is predominantly frozen as ice. When a
star is born the local energy release by radiation liberates ices in its
surrounding envelope and powers energetic outflows that appear to be water
factories. In these regions water plays an important role in the gas physics.
Finally, we end with an exploration of water in planet forming disks
surrounding young stars. The availability of accurate molecular data
(frequencies, collisional rate coefficients, and chemical reaction rates) are
crucial to analyze the observations at each of these steps.
View original:
http://arxiv.org/abs/1110.4152
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