Processed and unprocessed ices in circumstellar disks

We present 3-5μm VLT-ISAAC spectroscopy searching for evidence of methanol ices in edge-on disks of young embedded stars. Examples include the disks of L1489 IRS in Taurus and CRBR 2422.8-3423 in Ophiuchus, the last of which has the highest column density of solid CO known toward a YSO. We find no unambiguous evidence for abundant methanol in the observed disks, but give strict upper limits. Several additional low-mass sources in the Serpens and Chameleon molecular clouds exhibit abundant solid methanol, although it is not clear if the ice is associated with a disk or with the envelope. These are the first detections of solid methanol in the circumstellar environments of embedded young low-mass stars providing evidence that complex molecular species previously observed only in the solid state toward high-mass star forming regions are also present near solar-type young stars. The constraints on the formation mechanisms of methanol and the chemical evolution of ices as the material is incorporated into circumstellar disks are discussed.