Ocean-like water in the Jupiter-family comet 103P/Hartley 2.

For decades, the source of Earth's volatiles, especially water with a deuterium-to-hydrogen ratio (D/H) of (1.558 ± 0.001) × 10(-4), has been a subject of debate. The similarity of Earth's bulk composition to that of meteorites known as enstatite chondrites suggests a dry proto-Earth with subsequent delivery of volatiles by local accretion or impacts of asteroids or comets. Previous measurements in six comets from the Oort cloud yielded a mean D/H ratio of (2.96 ± 0.25) × 10(-4). The D/H value in carbonaceous chondrites, (1.4 ± 0.1) × 10(-4), together with dynamical simulations, led to models in which asteroids were the main source of Earth's water, with ≤10 per cent being delivered by comets. Here we report that the D/H ratio in the Jupiter-family comet 103P/Hartley 2, which originated in the Kuiper belt, is (1.61 ± 0.24) × 10(-4). This result substantially expands the reservoir of Earth ocean-like water to include some comets, and is consistent with the emerging picture of a complex dynamical evolution of the early Solar System.

Ortho/para ratio of H2O+ toward Sagittarius B2(M) revisited.

The HIFI instrument aboard the Herschel satellite has allowed the observation and characterization of light hydrides, the building blocks of interstellar chemistry. In this article, we revisit the ortho/para ratio for H2O(+) toward the Sgr B2(M) cloud core. The line of sight toward this star forming region passes through several spiral arms and the gas in the Bar potential in the inner Galaxy. In contrast to earlier findings, which used fewer lines to constrain the ratio, we find a ratio of 3, which is uniformly consistent with high-temperature formation of the species. In view of the reactivity of this ion, this matches the expectations.

Ortho-to-para ratio in interstellar water on the sightline toward Sagittarius B2(N).

The determination of the water ortho-to-para ratio (OPR) is of great interest for studies of the formation and thermal history of water ices in the interstellar medium and protoplanetary disk environments. We present new Herschel observations of the fundamental rotational transitions of ortho- and para-water on the sightline toward Sagittarius B2(N), which allow improved estimates of the measurement uncertainties due to instrumental effects and assumptions about the excitation of water molecules. These new measurements, suggesting a spin temperature of 24-32 K, confirm the earlier findings of an OPR below the high-temperature value on the nearby sightline toward Sagittarius B2(M). The exact implications of the low OPR in the galactic center molecular gas remain unclear and will greatly benefit from future laboratory measurements involving water freeze-out and evaporation processes under low-temperature conditions, similar to those present in the galactic interstellar medium. Given the specific conditions in the central region of the Milky Way, akin to those encountered in active Galactic nuclei, gas-phase processes under the influence of strong X-ray and cosmic ray ionization also have to be carefully considered. We summarize some of the latest laboratory measurements and their implications here.

CH2D(+), the search for the holy grail.

CH2D+, the singly deuterated counterpart of CH3(+), offers an alternative way to mediate formation of deuterated species at temperatures of several tens of Kelvin, as compared to the release of deuterated species from grains. We report a longstanding observational search for this molecular ion, whose rotational spectroscopy is not yet completely secure. We summarize the main spectroscopic properties of this molecule and discuss the chemical network leading to the formation of CH2D+, with explicit account of the ortho/para forms of H2, H3(+), and CH3(+). Astrochemical models support the presence of this molecular ion in moderately warm environments at a marginal level.

Determination of the ortho to para ratio of H2Cl+ and H2O+ from submillimeter observations.

The opening of the submillimeter sky with the Herschel Space Observatory has led to the detection of new interstellar molecular ions, H2O(+), H2Cl(+), and HCl(+), which are important intermediates in the synthesis of water vapor and hydrogen chloride. In this paper, we report new observations of H2O(+) and H2Cl(+) performed with both Herschel and ground-based telescopes, to determine the abundances of their ortho and para forms separately and derive the ortho-to-para ratio. At the achieved signal-to-noise ratio, the observations are consistent with an ortho-to-para ratios of 3 for both H2O(+) and H2Cl(+), in all velocity components detected along the lines-of-sight to the massive star-forming regions W31C and W49N. We discuss the mechanisms that contribute to establishing the observed ortho-to-para ratio and point to the need for a better understanding of chemical reactions, which are important for establishing the H2O(+) and H2Cl(+) ortho-to-para ratios.

Ethyl alcohol and sugar in comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy).

The presence of numerous complex organic molecules (COMs; defined as those containing six or more atoms) around protostars shows that star formation is accompanied by an increase of molecular complexity. These COMs may be part of the material from which planetesimals and, ultimately, planets formed. Comets represent some of the oldest and most primitive material in the solar system, including ices, and are thus our best window into the volatile composition of the solar protoplanetary disk. Molecules identified to be present in cometary ices include water, simple hydrocarbons, oxygen, sulfur, and nitrogen-bearing species, as well as a few COMs, such as ethylene glycol and glycine. We report the detection of 21 molecules in comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy), including the first identification of ethyl alcohol (ethanol, C2H5OH) and the simplest monosaccharide sugar glycolaldehyde (CH2OHCHO) in a comet. The abundances of ethanol and glycolaldehyde, respectively 5 and 0.8% relative to methanol (0.12 and 0.02% relative to water), are somewhat higher than the values measured in solar-type protostars. Overall, the high abundance of COMs in cometary ices supports the formation through grain-surface reactions in the solar system protoplanetary disk.

Hot, metastable hydronium ion in the Galactic centre: formation pumping in X-ray-irradiated gas?

With a 3.5 m diameter telescope passively cooled to approximately 80 K, and a science payload comprising two direct detection cameras/medium resolution imaging spectrometers (PACS and SPIRE) and a very high spectral resolution heterodyne spectrometer (HIFI), the Herschel Space Observatory is providing extraordinary observational opportunities in the 55-670 µm spectral range. HIFI has opened for the first time to high-resolution spectroscopy the submillimetre band that includes the fundamental rotational transitions of interstellar hydrides, the basic building blocks of astrochemistry. We discuss a recent HIFI discovery of metastable rotational transitions of the hydronium ion (protonated water, H(3)O(+)), with rotational level energies up to 1200 K above the ground state, in absorption towards Sagittarius B2(N) in the Galactic centre. Hydronium is an important molecular ion in the oxygen chemical network. Earlier HIFI observations have indicated a general deficiency of H(3)O(+) in the diffuse gas in the Galactic disc. The presence of hot H(3)O(+) towards Sagittarius B2(N) thus appears to be related to the unique physical conditions in the central molecular zone, manifested, for example, by the widespread presence of abundant H(3)(+). One intriguing theory for the high rotational temperature characterizing the population of the H(3)O(+) metastable levels may be formation pumping in molecular gas irradiated by X-rays emitted by the Galactic centre black hole. Alternatively, the pervasive presence of enhanced turbulence in the central molecular zone may give rise to shocks in the lower-density medium that is exposed to energetic radiation.

Detection of the water reservoir in a forming planetary system.

Icy bodies may have delivered the oceans to the early Earth, yet little is known about water in the ice-dominated regions of extrasolar planet-forming disks. The Heterodyne Instrument for the Far-Infrared on board the Herschel Space Observatory has detected emission lines from both spin isomers of cold water vapor from the disk around the young star TW Hydrae. This water vapor likely originates from ice-coated solids near the disk surface, hinting at a water ice reservoir equivalent to several thousand Earth oceans in mass. The water's ortho-to-para ratio falls well below that of solar system comets, suggesting that comets contain heterogeneous ice mixtures collected across the entire solar nebula during the early stages of planetary birth.