Water ice detected at the surface of a distant star's disk

http://arxiv.org/pdf/1603.09512v1.pdf

WATER ICE AT THE SURFACE OF HD 100546 DISK
Abstract:
We made near infrared multicolor imaging observations of a disk around Herbig Be star HD100546 using Gemini/NICI. K (2.2 µm), H2O ice (3.06 µm), and L’(3.8 µm) disk images were obtained and we found the 3.1 µm absorption feature in the scattered light spectrum, likely due to water ice grains at the disk surface. We compared the observed depth of the ice absorption feature with the disk model based on Oka et al. (2012) including water ice photodesorption effect by stellar UV photons. The observed absorption depth can be explained by the both disk models with/without photodesorption effect within the measurement accuracy, but slightly favors the model with photodesorption effects, implying that the UV photons play an important role on the survival/destruction of ice grains at the Herbig Ae/Be disk surface. Further improvement on the accuracy of the observations of the water ice absorption depth is needed to constrain the disk models.