Water ice in the debris disk around HD 181327

Chen Xie¹, Christine H Chen^{2

3}, Carey M Lisse⁴, Dean C Hines³, Tracy Beck³, Sarah K Betti³, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso^{5

6}, Carl Ingebretsen², Kadin Worthen², András Gáspár⁷, Schuyler G Wolff⁷, Bryce T Bolin^{8

9}, Laurent Pueyo³, Marshall D Perrin³, John A Stansberry³, Jarron M Leisenring⁷

Affiliations

¹ William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. cxie21@jh.edu.
² William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA.
⁵ Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies of Asturias, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
⁶ Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
⁷ Steward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona Tucson, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁸ Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁹ Eureka Scientific, Oakland, CA, USA.

PMID: 40369138
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08920-4

Water ice in the debris disk around HD 181327

Chen Xie et al. Nature. 2025 May.

. 2025 May;641(8063):608-611.

doi: 10.1038/s41586-025-08920-4. Epub 2025 May 14.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA. cxie21@jh.edu.
² William H. Miller III Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
³ Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁴ Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University, Laurel, MD, USA.
⁵ Institute of Space Sciences and Technologies of Asturias, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain.
⁶ Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
⁷ Steward Observatory and the Department of Astronomy, The University of Arizona Tucson, Tucson, AZ, USA.
⁸ Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA.
⁹ Eureka Scientific, Oakland, CA, USA.

PMID: 40369138
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08920-4

Abstract

Debris disks are exoplanetary systems that contain planets, minor bodies (asteroids, Kuiper belt objects, comets and so on) and micrometre-sized debris dust¹. Because water ice is the most common frozen volatile, it plays an essential role in the formation of planets^2,3 and minor bodies. Although water ice has been commonly found in Kuiper belt objects and comets in the Solar System⁴, no definitive evidence for water ice in debris disks has been obtained to date¹. Here we report the discovery of water ice in the HD 181327 debris disk using the near-infrared spectrograph onboard the James Webb Space Telescope. We detected the solid-state broad absorption feature of water ice at 3 µm including a distinct Fresnel peak at 3.1 µm, which is indicative of large, crystalline water-ice particles. Gradients in the water-ice feature as a function of stellocentric distance reveal a dynamic environment in which water ice is destroyed and replenished. We estimated the water-ice mass fractions as ranging from 0.1% at approximately 85 au to 21% at approximately 113 au, indicating the presence of a water-ice reservoir in the HD 181327 disk beyond the snow line. The icy bodies that release water ice in HD 181327 are probably the extra-solar counterparts of water-ice-rich Kuiper belt objects in our Solar System.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

References

1. Hughes, A. M., Duchêne, G. & Matthews, B. C. Debris disks: structure, composition, and variability. Annu. Rev. Astron. Astrophys. 56, 541–591 (2018). - DOI
1. Eistrup, C. & Henning, T. Chemical evolution in ices on drifting, planet-forming pebbles. Astron. Astrophys. 667, A160 (2022). - DOI
1. Krijt, S. et al. in Protostars and Planets VII, vol. 534 (eds Inutsuka, S., Aikawa, Y., Muto, T., Tomida, K. & Tamura, M.) 1031–1073 (2023).
1. Gudipati, M. S. & Castillo-Rogez, J. (eds) The Science of Solar System Ices (Springer, 2013).
1. Jakobsen, P. et al. The near-infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) on the James Webb Space Telescope. Astron. Astrophys. 661, A80 (2022). - DOI

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Water ice in the debris disk around HD 181327

Affiliations

Water ice in the debris disk around HD 181327

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

References

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources