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The diverse chemistry of protoplanetary disks as revealed by JWST.

Ewine F van DishoeckSierra L GrantBenoit TaboneM van GelderL FrancisL TychoniecGiulio BettoniAditya M ArabhaviDanny GasmanP NazariMarissa VlasblomP KavanaghValentin ChristiaensP KlaassenH BeutherThomas K HenningInga Kamp
Published in: Faraday discussions (2023)
Early results from the James Webb Space Telescope-Mid-InfraRed Instrument (JWST-MIRI) guaranteed time programs on protostars (JOYS) and disks (MINDS) are presented. Thanks to the increased sensitivity, spectral and spatial resolution of the MIRI spectrometer, the chemical inventory of the planet-forming zones in disks can be investigated with unprecedented detail across stellar mass range and age. Here, data are presented for five disks, four around low-mass stars and one around a very young high-mass star. The mid-infrared spectra show some similarities but also significant diversity: some sources are rich in CO 2 , others in H 2 O or C 2 H 2 . In one disk around a very low-mass star, booming C 2 H 2 emission provides evidence for a "soot" line at which carbon grains are eroded and sublimated, leading to a rich hydrocarbon chemistry in which even di-acetylene (C 4 H 2 ) and benzene (C 6 H 6 ) are detected. Together the data point to an active inner disk gas-phase chemistry that is closely linked to the physical structure (temperature, snowlines, presence of cavities and dust traps) of the entire disk and which may result in varying CO 2 /H 2 O abundances and high C/O ratios >1 in some cases. Ultimately, this diversity in disk chemistry will also be reflected in the diversity of the chemical composition of exoplanets.
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