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arXiv · 2611.04557

Up in smoke: carbon-destruction in the terrestrial planet-forming region of a young Class I disk

F. J. Ballieux·M. K. McClure·E. A. Bergin·M. L. R. Van 't Hoff·Ł. Tychoniec·L. Francis·E. F. Van Dishoeck
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Abstract

Earth's surface and deep mantle are strongly depleted in carbon compared to the Sun. Sublimation of solid carbonaceous material in the inner midplanes of young disks could cause this depletion. We study such thermal processing in HOPS-68, a Class I protostar with a rich hydrocarbon spectrum. A companion paper has shown that it is recondensing refractory dust from a hot inner disk region, and that oxygen-bearing species are tracing a warm (300-500 K) molecular layer entrained in a disk-wind. In this work, we analyze the carbon species in the JWST spectrum of this source using local thermal equilibrium slab models. We detect warm (~400 K) HCN and C2H2 at the base of a disk wind, as well as colder (~40 K) C4H2, CH3, and CS in the outer disk or outflow cavity wall. Additionally, 13CCH2, CH4, and C6H2 are detected, while ALMA observations reveal C2H tracing the outflow cavity walls. We suggest that in a "refractory carbon destruction zone" in the inner disk, carbon-bearing species are released from the grains, possibly contributing to the observed carbon depletion of Earth. The disk wind then redistributes carbon carried by HCN and C2H2 from the inner disk to the colder outer disk, where UV-induced gas-phase reactions with C2H in the outflow cavity walls could produce the aliphatic carbon chains seen. This result implies that the Warm Carbon Chain Chemistry (WCCC, e.g. N. Sakai & S. Yamamoto 2013) might trace outflows rather than infall. The formation of aliphatic chains in the disk wind could promote the abundant aliphatic organics found in meteorites and asteroids.

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F. J. Ballieux, M. K. McClure, E. A. Bergin, M. L. R. Van 't Hoff, Ł. Tychoniec, L. Francis, E. F. Van Dishoeck. 2026-11-03. Up in smoke: carbon-destruction in the terrestrial planet-forming region of a young Class I disk. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213%2Faebc81

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