Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sensitive Limits On The Water Abundance In Cold Low-Mass Molecular Cores, Ea Bergin, Ronald L. Snell

Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series

We present Submillimeter Wave Astronomy Satellite observations of water vapor in two cold starless clouds, B68 and core D in ρ Ophiuchi. Sensitive nondetections of the 1₁₀-1₀₁ transition of o-H₂O are reported for each source. Both molecular cores have been previously examined by detailed observations that have characterized the physical structure. Using these rather well-defined physical properties and a Monte Carlo radiation transfer model, we have removed one of the largest uncertainties from the abundance calculation and set the lowest water abundance limit to date in cold low-mass molecular cores. These limits are x(o-H …