Studies of H₂O and CO₂ Towards RX Boo with SOFIA/EXES

We present an analysis of H₂O and CO₂ detected toward the circumstellar envelope of the O-rich AGB star RX Boo. High spectral resolution (R > 60,000) observations of RX Boo were obtained with the Echelon Cross Echelle Spectrograph (EXES) on the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Three spectral regions (6.69–6.95μm, 13.40–13.54μm, and 16.20–16.36μm) were selected with the goal of tracing the oxygen chemistry of the circumstellar envelope. Approximately 60 CO₂ emission lines have been identified from multiple vibrational bands. A ro-vibrational diagram has been made to measure the rotational temperatures and column density of the strongest populations. The interpretation of the H₂O-rich setting is still in its preliminary stages.