H₂CO Ortho-to-para Ratio in the Protoplanetary Disk HD 163296

Abstract

Ortho-to-para (o/p) ratios of species like water, ammonia, and formaldehyde ({{{H}}}₂{CO}) are believed to encode information about the formation history of the molecule. Measurements of o/p ratios in protoplanetary disks could thus be used to constrain their physical and chemical histories. We present the first measurement of the {{{H}}}₂{CO} o/p ratio in a protoplanetary disk, using three ortho and two para lines observed with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) combined with one highly resolved measurement of a single {{{H}}}₂{CO} line with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) toward the disk around Herbig Ae star HD 163296. We find a disk-averaged {{{H}}}₂{CO} o/p ratio of 1.8-2.8 (depending on the assumed disk structure), corresponding to a spin temperature of 11-22 K. We also derive a rotational temperature of 24 K from the flux ratio of the three ortho lines. The observed spatial distribution, as seen by ALMA, as well as the rotational temperature and the o/p ratio, at the large scales the SMA is most sensitive to, are consistent with a low-temperature formation pathway, most likely grain surface chemistry, of {{{H}}}₂{CO} in this disk.