Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS) III. CH3OH isotopic fractionation in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1
Abstract
[Abridged] Methanol is a complex organic molecule detected in both ice and gas toward star-forming regions. Due to its high abundance, its rarer isotopologues, including the deuterated ones, are also commonly detected. Our aim is to determine the column density and deuterium fractionation of methanol in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1. We analyzed data from a large spectral survey of BHR71-IRS1 carried out as part of the ALMA Large Program Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS). We used the CASSIS software to identify the lines of the methanol isotopologues and constrain their column densities under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. We detected CH3OH, 13CH3OH, CH318OH, CH3OD, CH2DOH, CHD2OH, and CD3OH at the continuum peak position. In addition, CH317OH is tentatively detected, while CD3OD is not detected, although a few faint lines could be present toward a position redshifted from the continuum peak. The column densities of the main isotopologue obtained from 13CH3OH and CH318OH are consistent, assuming nominal 12C/13C and 16O/18O ratios of 68 and 557, respectively. The CH2DOH/CH3OD column density ratio is equal to 7±2. The statistically corrected D/H ratio is higher for CH2DOH (1.9±0.6 %) than for CH3OD (0.8±0.2 %). The level of deuteration after statistical correction increases with the number of D atoms in the methyl group, reaching 23±5 % for CD3OH/CH3OH. These trends are similar to other low-mass protostars such as IRAS~16293--2422 and HOPS 373SW, but seem to differ from the eruptive young star V883-Ori. Similar studies with comparable datasets will be carried out for the other COMPASS sources to determine if factors such as environmental conditions and evolutionary states impact the deuteration of methanol.
Versions
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BibTeX
@misc{coutens2026complex,
title = {{Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS) III. CH$_3$OH isotopic fractionation in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1}},
author = {A. Coutens and F. Cruz-Sáenz de Miera and J. K. Jørgensen and M. N. Drozdovskaya and J. -E. Lee and A. L. Plunkett and D. Harsono and S. Maret and A. Belloche and J. Ferrer Asensio and M. L. R. van't Hoff and J. -H. Jeong and Á. Kóspál and B. A. McGuire and P. Nazari and S. Spezzano and Z. Telkamp and Y. -L. Yang and H. -S. Yun and S. Zeng and A. Andreu and J. Bergner and C. -H. Kim and N. F. W. Ligterink and Y. Lin and S. -Y. Liu and M. Lützen and P. Marchand and M. Rao},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.07463},
eprint = {2610.07463},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07463},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS) III. CH_3OH isotopic fractionation in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1
AU - A. Coutens
AU - F. Cruz-Sáenz de Miera
AU - J. K. Jørgensen
AU - M. N. Drozdovskaya
AU - J. -E. Lee
AU - A. L. Plunkett
AU - D. Harsono
AU - S. Maret
AU - A. Belloche
AU - J. Ferrer Asensio
AU - M. L. R. van't Hoff
AU - J. -H. Jeong
AU - Á. Kóspál
AU - B. A. McGuire
AU - P. Nazari
AU - S. Spezzano
AU - Z. Telkamp
AU - Y. -L. Yang
AU - H. -S. Yun
AU - S. Zeng
AU - A. Andreu
AU - J. Bergner
AU - C. -H. Kim
AU - N. F. W. Ligterink
AU - Y. Lin
AU - S. -Y. Liu
AU - M. Lützen
AU - P. Marchand
AU - M. Rao
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.07463
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.07463
AB - [Abridged] Methanol is a complex organic molecule detected in both ice and gas toward star-forming regions. Due to its high abundance, its rarer isotopologues, including the deuterated ones, are also commonly detected. Our aim is to determine the column density and deuterium fractionation of methanol in the low-mass protostar BHR71-IRS1. We analyzed data from a large spectral survey of BHR71-IRS1 carried out as part of the ALMA Large Program Complex Organic Molecules in Protostars with ALMA Spectral Surveys (COMPASS). We used the CASSIS software to identify the lines of the methanol isotopologues and constrain their column densities under the assumption of local thermodynamic equilibrium. We detected CH_3OH, ^13CH_3OH, CH_3^18OH, CH_3OD, CH_2DOH, CHD_2OH, and CD_3OH at the continuum peak position. In addition, CH_3^17OH is tentatively detected, while CD_3OD is not detected, although a few faint lines could be present toward a position redshifted from the continuum peak. The column densities of the main isotopologue obtained from ^13CH_3OH and CH_3^18OH are consistent, assuming nominal ^12C/^13C and ^16O/^18O ratios of 68 and 557, respectively. The CH_2DOH/CH_3OD column density ratio is equal to 7±2. The statistically corrected D/H ratio is higher for CH_2DOH (1.9±0.6 %) than for CH_3OD (0.8±0.2 %). The level of deuteration after statistical correction increases with the number of D atoms in the methyl group, reaching 23±5 % for CD_3OH/CH_3OH. These trends are similar to other low-mass protostars such as IRAS~16293--2422 and HOPS 373SW, but seem to differ from the eruptive young star V883-Ori. Similar studies with comparable datasets will be carried out for the other COMPASS sources to determine if factors such as environmental conditions and evolutionary states impact the deuteration of methanol.
ER -