Detection of water vapor in the photosphere of Arcturus

We report detections of pure rotation lines of OH and H2O in the K1.5 III red giant star Arcturus (alpha Bootis) using high-resolution, infrared spectra covering the regions 806-822 cm(-1) (12.2-12.4 mum) and 884-923 cm(-1) (10.8-11.3 mum). Arcturus is the hottest star yet to show water vapor features in its disk-averaged spectrum. We argue that the water vapor lines originate from the photosphere, albeit in the outer layers. We are able to predict the observed strengths of OH and H2O lines satisfactorily after lowering the temperature structure of the outermost parts of the photosphere (log tau(500) = -3.8 and beyond) compared to a flux-constant, hydrostatic, standard MARCS model photosphere. Our new model is consistently calculated including chemical equilibrium and radiative transfer from the given temperature structure. Possible reasons for a temperature decrease in the outermost parts of the photosphere and the assumed breakdown of the assumptions made in classical model atmosphere codes are discussed.