Discovery of sulfur oxides in the ejecta of a B[e] supergiant

Abstract

B[e] supergiants represent a rare class of luminous, evolved massive stars surrounded by dusty circumstellar disks. Since their intense UV fields were long thought to sterilize their surroundings, molecular detections beyond carbon monoxide have remained elusive, leaving their chemical reservoirs largely unexplored. Whether these environments can sustain a complex molecular chemistry is a fundamental question with significant astrochemical implications. Here we report the detection of chemically rich molecular gas surrounding the B[e] supergiant HD~87643, using ALMA observations. Our data reveal the presence of the sulfur oxides SO and SO${}_2$ and other sulfur-bearing species, marking the first detection of these molecules in an early-type evolved massive star. We find a high fractional abundance of SO${}_2$ relative to H${}_2$, which our chemical modelling can reproduce in timescales as short as $\sim$10${}^4$ yr in an oxygen-rich environment. These results indicate that the detected molecules trace a short-lived, rapidly evolving phase of out-of-equilibrium chemistry. Furthermore, we measure an anomalously low ${}^{32}$SO/${}^{33}$SO, that we attribute to mass-independent fractionation driven by intense photochemistry. This mechanism mirrors processes proposed to explain the ${}^{33}$S excesses in the atmosphere of the Archaean Earth. Our findings suggest that B[e] supergiants could serve as unique laboratories for studying sulfur chemistry under extreme radiation conditions, opening potential avenues to investigate the fractionation processes that shaped the isotopic signatures found in the early geological record.

10 pages, 4 figures, published in ApJL