Water ice in the debris disk around HD 181327

Chen Xie (), Christine H. Chen, Carey M. Lisse, Dean C. Hines, Tracy Beck, Sarah K. Betti, Noemí Pinilla-Alonso, Carl Ingebretsen, Kadin Worthen, András Gáspár, Schuyler G. Wolff, Bryce T. Bolin, Laurent Pueyo, Marshall D. Perrin, John A. Stansberry and Jarron M. Leisenring
Additional contact information
Chen Xie: Johns Hopkins University
Christine H. Chen: Johns Hopkins University
Carey M. Lisse: Johns Hopkins University
Dean C. Hines: Space Telescope Science Institute
Tracy Beck: Space Telescope Science Institute
Sarah K. Betti: Space Telescope Science Institute
Noemí Pinilla-Alonso: University of Oviedo
Carl Ingebretsen: Johns Hopkins University
Kadin Worthen: Johns Hopkins University
András Gáspár: The University of Arizona Tucson
Schuyler G. Wolff: The University of Arizona Tucson
Bryce T. Bolin: Goddard Space Flight Center
Laurent Pueyo: Space Telescope Science Institute
Marshall D. Perrin: Space Telescope Science Institute
John A. Stansberry: Space Telescope Science Institute
Jarron M. Leisenring: The University of Arizona Tucson

Nature, 2025, vol. 641, issue 8063, 608-611

Abstract: 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 planets2,3 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.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08920-4

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