C+ is a key species in the interstellar medium but its 158 μm fine structure line cannot be observed from ground-based telescopes. Current models of fluorine chemistry predict that CF+ is the second most important fluorine reservoir, in regions where C+ is abundant. We detected the J = 1-0 and J = 2-1 rotational lines of CF+ with high signal-to-noise ratio towards the PDR and dense core positions in the Horsehead. Using a rotational diagram analysis, we derive a column density of N(CF+) = (1.5 - 2.0) \times 10^12 cm^-2. Because of the simple fluorine chemistry, the CF+ column density is proportional to the fluorine abundance. We thus infer the fluorine gas-phase abundance to be F/H = (0.6 - 1.5) \times 10^-8. Photochemical models indicate that CF+ is found in the layers where C+ is abundant. The emission arises in the UV illuminated skin of the nebula, tracing the outermost cloud layers. Indeed, CF+ and C+ are the only species observed to date in the Horsehead with a double peaked line profile caused by kinematics. We therefore propose that CF+, which is detectable from the ground, can be used as a proxy of the C+ layers.
The large disparity in physical conditions from the diffuse interstellar medium (ISM) to denser clouds such as photon-dominated regions (PDRs) triggers an evolution of the dust properties (i.e. composition, size, and shape). The gas physics and chemistry are tightly connected to these dust properties and are therefore affected by dust evolution and especially the nano-grain depletion in the outer irradiated part of PDRs. We highlight the influence of nano-grain depletion on the gas physics and chemistry in the Horsehead nebula, a prototypical PDR. We used a model for atomic and molecular gas i…
Small hydrocarbons, such as C2H, C3H and C3H2 are more abundant in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) than expected based on gas-phase chemical models. To explore the hydrocarbon chemistry further, we observed a key intermediate species, the hydrocarbon ion l-C3H+, in the Horsehead PDR with the Plateau de Bure Interferometer at high-angular resolution (6''). We compare with previous observations of C2H and c-C3H2 at similar angular resolution and new gas-phase chemical model predictions to constrain the dominant formation mechanisms of small hydrocarbons in low-UV flux PDRs. We find that, at th…
Weak, extended water vapor emission in the Horsehead nebula
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology（加州理工学院喷气推进实验室）；LUX, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, CNRS, Sorbonne Université（巴黎天文台卢克瑟姆宇宙学与天体物理实验室，巴黎文理研究大学，法国国家科学研究中心，索邦大学）；Instituto de Física Fundamental (CSIC)（基础物理研究所（西班牙国家科学研究委员会））；European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)（欧洲空间局欧洲空间天文中心）
A wide variety of molecules have recently been detected in the Horsehead nebula photodissociation region (PDR) suggesting that: (i) gas-phase and grain chemistries should both contribute to the formation of organic molecules, and (ii) far-ultraviolet (FUV) photodesorption may explain the release into the gas phase of grain surface species. In order to tackle these specific problems and more generally in order to better constrain the chemical structure of these types of environments we present a study of the Horsehead nebula gas-grain chemistry. To do so we used the 1D astrochemical gas-grain c…
JWST observations of photodissociation regions: II. Warm molecular Hydrogen spectroscopy in the Horsehead nebula
Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale（巴黎萨克雷大学）；Sorbonne Université, CNRS, Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris（索邦大学）；Space Telescope Science Institute（太空望远镜科学研究所）；LUX, Observatoire de Paris, Université PSL, Sorbonne Université, CNRS（巴黎天文台）；Université Paris-Cité（巴黎西岱大学）；Steward Observatory, University of Arizona（亚利桑那大学斯图尔德天文台）；Department of Physics & Astronomy, The University of Western Ontario（韦仕敦大学物理与天文学系）；Ritter Astrophysical Research Center, University of Toledo（托莱多大学里特天体物理研究中心）
Aims. Our goal is to complete the inventory of S-bearing molecules and their abundances in the prototypical photodissociation region (PDR) the Horsehead nebula to gain insight into sulphur chemistry in UV irradiated regions. Based on the WHISPER millimeter (mm) line survey, our goal is to provide an improved and more accurate description of sulphur species and their abundances towards the core and PDR positions in the Horsehead. Methods. The Monte Carlo Markov chain (MCMC) methodology and the molecular excitation and radiative transfer code RADEX were used to explore the parameter space and de…
We study evolution of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (HAC) grains under harsh UV radiation in photo-dissociation regions (PDRs) near young massive stars. Our aim is to evaluate the impact of the HAC grains on formation of observed small hydrocarbons: C$_2$H, C$_2$H$_2$, C$_3$H$^+$, C$_3$H, C$_3$H$_2$, C$_4$H, in PDRs. We developed a microscopic model of the HAC grains based on available experimental results. The model includes processes of photo- and thermodesorption, accretion of hydrogen and carbon atoms and subsequent formation of carbonaceous mantle on dust surface. H$_2$, CH$_4$, C$_2$H$_2…
H2 emission in the Orion Bar, NGC7023 and the Horsehead Nebula observed with the James Webb Space Telescope
Instituto de Física Fundamental (CSIC)（基础物理研究所（西班牙科学理事会））；Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS（空间天体物理学研究所，巴黎萨克雷大学，法国国家科学研究中心）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario（韦仕敦大学物理与天文系）；Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, The University of Western Ontario（韦仕敦大学地球与太空探索研究所）；Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan（密歇根大学天文系）；Astronomy Department, University of Maryland（马里兰大学天文系）；Leiden Observatory, Leiden University（莱顿大学莱顿天文台）
An observational investigation of the identity of B11244 ($l$-C$_3$H$^+$/C$_3$H$^-$)
Pety等人（2012）报告了在对马头PDR的观察中检测到闭合壳线性分子（B11244）的8次跃迁，他们将其归因于$l$ -C $_3$ H $^+$阳离子。最近的高水平\textit{ab initio}计算对这种分配提出了质疑;阴离子C $_3$ H $^-$分子被认为是更可能的候选分子。在这里，我们在$l$ -C $_3$ H $^+$和C $_3$ H $^-$的背景下检查马头PDR、Sgr B2（N）、TMC-1和IRC+10216的观测结果。我们没有发现$K_a = 1$线的观察证据，这些线应该存在于确实是C $_3$ H $^-$的载体中。此外，我们发现在这些区域中已知的分子阴离子和B11244之间存在很强的反相关性。最后，我们讨论了形成和破坏化学的C $_3$ H $^-$的物理条件下，在该地区。基于这些结果，我们得出结论，几乎没有证据支持载体是C $_3$ H $^-$。
We present a study of emission lines of small hydrocarbons C$_2$H and $c$-C$_3$H$_2$, and COMs precursors H$_2$CO and CH$_3$OH in order to better understand the possible chemical link between the molecular abundances and UV radiation field in photodissociation regions (PDRs). We study two PDRs around extended and compact HII regions with $G \leq 50$~Habings in the S235 star-forming complex. We find the highest abundances of both hydrocarbons on the edges of molecular clumps, while $c$-C$_3$H$_2$ is also abundant in the low-density expanding PDR around compact HII region S235\,A. We see the hig…
The formation of hydrides by gas-phase reactions between H2 and a heavy element atom is a very selective process. Reactions with ground-state neutral carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur atoms are very endoergic and have high energy barriers because the H2 molecule has to be fragmented before a hydride bond is formed. In cold interstellar clouds, these barriers exclude the formation of CH, OH, NH, and SH radicals through hydrogen abstraction reactions. Here we study a very energetically unfavorable process, the reaction of N(4S) atoms with H2 molecules. We calculated the reaction rate coeffici…
Complex nitriles, such as HC3N, and CH3CN, are observed in a wide variety of astrophysical environments, including at relatively high abundances in photon-dominated regions (PDR) and the UV exposed atmospheres of planet-forming disks. The latter have been inferred to be oxygen-poor, suggesting that these observations may be explained by organic chemistry in C-rich environments. In this study we first explore if the PDR complex nitrile observations can be explained by gas-phase PDR chemistry alone if the elemental C/O ratio is elevated. In the case of the Horsehead PDR, we find that gas-phase c…
We present a comparative study of the near-infrared (NIR) H$_2$ line emission from five regions near hot young stars: Sharpless 140, NGC 2023, IC 63, the Horsehead Nebula, and the Orion Bar. This emission originates in photodissociation or photon-dominated regions (PDRs), interfaces between photoionized and molecular gas near hot (O) stars or reflection nebulae illuminated by somewhat cooler (B) stars. In these environments, the dominant excitation mechanism for NIR emission lines originating from excited rotational-vibrational (rovibrational) levels of the ground electronic state is radiative…
Spatial distribution of organics in the Horsehead nebula: Signposts of chemistry driven by atomic carbon
Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile（智利天主教 Pontificia 大学）；Millennium Nucleus on Young Exoplanets and their Moons (YEMS)（年轻系外行星及其卫星千年核）；European Southern Observatory（欧洲南方天文台）；IRAM（红外毫米波研究所）；Observatoire de Paris, PSL Research University, CNRS, Sorbonne Universités（巴黎天文台，PSL研究大学，CNRS，索邦大学）；Uppsala University（乌普萨拉大学）；Instituto de Física Fundamental (CSIC)（基础物理研究所（CSIC））
