Methanol and complex organic molecules have been found in cold starless cores, where a standard warm-up scenario would not work because of the absence of heat sources. A recent chemical model attributed the presence of methanol and large organics to the efficient chemical desorption and a class of neutral-neutral reactions that proceed fast at low temperatures in the gas phase. The model calls for a high abundance of methanol ice at the edge of the CO freeze-out zone in cold cloud cores. We performed medium resolution spectroscopy toward 3 field stars behind the starless core L1544 at 3 $μ$m to constrain the methanol ice abundance and compare it with the model predictions. One of the field stars shows a methanol-ice abundance of 11% with respect to water ice. This is higher than the typical methanol abundance previously found in cold cloud cores (4%), but is 4.5 times smaller than predicted. The reason for the disagreement between the observations and the model calculations is not yet understood.
Methanol ice is embedded in interstellar ice mantles present in dense molecular clouds. We aim to measure the sputtering efficiencies starting from different ice mantles of varying compositions experimentally, in order to evaluate their potential impact on astrochemical models. The sputtering yields of complex organic molecules is of particular interest, since few mechanisms are efficient enough to induce a significant feedback to the gas phase. We irradiated methanol and carbon dioxide ice mixtures of varying ratios with swift heavy ions in the electronic sputtering regime. We monitored the e…
Methanol Formation via the Radical-radical Reaction of OH and CH3 Radicals Undergoing Transient Diffusion on Ice at 10 to 60 K
Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University（北海道大学低温科学研究所）；Komaba Institute for Science and Department of Basic Science, The University of Tokyo（东京大学理学院基础科学系）
This is the second paper in a series of catalogues of 22-GHz water maser observations towards the 6.7-GHz methanol masers from the Methanol Multibeam (MMB) Survey. In this paper we present our water maser observations made with the Australia Telescope Compact Array towards the masers from the MMB survey between l = 341$^{\circ}$ through the Galactic centre to l = 6$^{\circ}$. Of the 204 6.7-GHz methanol masers in this longitude range we found 101 to have associated water maser emission (~ 50 per cent). We found no difference in the 6.7-GHz methanol maser luminosities of those with and without …
Previous radio observations revealed widespread gas-phase methanol (CH$_3$OH) in the Central Molecular Zone (CMZ) at the Galactic center (GC), but its origin remains unclear. Here, we report the discovery of CH$_3$OH ice toward a star in the CMZ, based on a Subaru $3.4$-$4.0\ μ$m spectrum, aided by NASA/IRTF $L'$ imaging and $2$-$4\ μ$m spectra. The star lies $\sim8000$ au away in projection from a massive young stellar object (MYSO). Its observed high CH$_3$OH ice abundance ($17\%\pm3\%$ relative to H$_2$O ice) suggests that the $3.535\ μ$m CH$_3$OH ice absorption likely arises in the MYSO's …
22 GHz water and 6.7 GHz methanol masers are usually thought as signposts of early stages of high-mass star formation but little is known about their associations and the physical environments they occur in. The aim was to obtain accurate positions and morphologies of the water maser emission and relate them to the methanol maser emission recently mapped with Very Long Baseline Interferometry. A sample of 31 methanol maser sources was searched for 22 GHz water masers using the VLA and observed in the 6.7 GHz methanol maser line with the 32 m Torun dish simultaneously. Water maser clusters were…
Water in outflows from protostars originates either as a result of gas-phase synthesis from atomic oxygen at T > 200 K, or from sputtered ice mantles containing water ice. We aim to quantify the contribution of the two mechanisms that lead to water in outflows, by comparing observations of gas-phase water to methanol (a grain surface product) towards three low-mass protostars in NGC1333. In doing so, we also quantify the amount of methanol destroyed in outflows. To do this, we make use of JCMT and Herschel-HIFI data of H2O, CH3OH and CO emission lines and compare them to RADEX non-LTE excitati…
Methanol is a common component of interstellar and circumstellar ice mantles and is often used as an evolution indicator in star-forming regions. The observations of gas-phase methanol in the interiors of dense molecular clouds at temperatures as low as 10 K suggests that a non-thermal ice desorption must be active. Ice photodesorption was proposed to explain the abundances of gas-phase molecules toward the coldest regions. Laboratory experiments were performed to investigate the potential photodesorption of methanol toward the coldest regions. Solid methanol was deposited at 8 K and UV-irradi…
The NGC 2024 FIR 6 region was observed in the water maser line at 22 GHz and the methanol class I maser lines at 44, 95, and 133 GHz. The water maser spectra displayed several velocity components and month-scale time variabilities. Most of the velocity components may be associated with FIR 6n, while one component was associated with FIR 4. A typical life time of the water-maser velocity-components is about 8 months. The components showed velocity fluctuations with a typical drift rate of about 0.01 km/s/day. The methanol class I masers were detected toward FIR 6. The methanol emission is confi…
Astrophysical observations show complex organic molecules (COMs) in the gas phase of protoplanetary disks. X-rays emitted from the central young stellar object (YSO) that irradiate interstellar ices in the disk, followed by the ejection of molecules in the gas phase, are a possible route to explain the abundances observed in the cold regions. This process, known as X-ray photodesorption, needs to be quantified for methanol-containing ices. We aim at experimentally measuring X-ray photodesorption yields of methanol and its photo-products from binary mixed ices: $^{13}$CO:CH$_3$OH ice and H$_2$O…
The 22.2 GHz water masers are often associated with the 6.7 GHz methanol masers but owing to the different excitation conditions they likely probe independent spatial and kinematic regions around the powering young massive star. We compared the emission of these two maser species on milliarcsecond scales to determine in which structures the masers arise and to test a disc-outflow scenario where the methanol emission arises in a circumstellar disc while the water emission comes from an outflow. We obtained high-angular and spectral resolution 22.2 GHz water maser observations of the two sources…
The results of a maser survey toward ninety-nine protostars in the Orion molecular cloud complex are presented. The target sources are low-mass protostars identified from infrared observations. Single-dish observations were carried out in the water maser line at 22 GHz and the methanol class I maser lines at 44, 95, and 133 GHz. Most of the detected sources were mapped to determine the source positions. Five water maser sources were detected, and they are excited by HH 1-2 VLA 3, HH 1-2 VLA 1, L1641N MM1/3, NGC 2071 IRS 1/3, and an object in the OMC 3 region. The water masers showed significan…
We present the results of unbiased 22 GHz H2O water and 44 GHz class I CH3OH methanol maser surveys in the central 7x10 arcmin area of NGC 1333 and two additional mapping observations of a 22 GHz water maser in a ~3x3arcmin area of the IRAS4A region. In the 22 GHz water maser survey of NGC 1333 with sensitivity of sigma~0.3Jy, we confirmed masers toward H2O(B) in the region of HH 7-11 and IRAS4B. We also detected new water masers at ~20arcsec away in the western direction of IRAS4B or ~25arcsec away in the southern direction of IRAS4A. We could not however find young stellar objects or molecul…
This study aims to elucidate a possible link between chemical properties of ices in star-forming regions and environmental characteristics of the host galaxy. We performed 3--4 micron spectroscopic observations toward nine embedded high-mass YSOs in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) with the ISAAC at the VLT. Additionally, we analyzed archival ISAAC data of two LMC YSOs. As a result, we detected absorption bands due to solid H2O and CH3OH as well as the 3.47 micron absorption band. The 3.53 micron CH3OH ice absorption band for the LMC YSOs is found to be absent or very weak compared to that see…
As the recent publication by Breen et al (2013) found Class II methanol masers are exclusively associated with high mass star forming regions. Based on the positions of the Class I and II methanol and H$_{2}$O masers, UC H II regions and 4.5 $μ$m infrared sources, and the center velocities ($v_{\text{LSR}}$) of the Class I methanol and H$_{2}$O masers, compared to the $v_{\text{LSR}}$ of the Class II methanol masers, we propose three disk-outflow models that may be traced by methanol masers. In all three models, we have located the Class II methanol maser near the protostar, and the Class I me…
The Australia Telescope Compact Array has been used to search for 22-GHz water masers towards the 119 6.7-GHz methanol masers detected in the Methanol Multi-Beam survey between Galactic longitudes 6 and 20 degrees; we find water masers associated with 55 (~46 per cent). Methanol masers with associated water masers have a higher mean integrated luminosity than those without and there is a general trend for sources with more luminous 6.7-GHz methanol masers to be associated with more luminous water maser emission. We have inspected the GLIMPSE three colour images of the regions surrounding the m…
Cold gas-phase water has recently been detected in a cold dark cloud, Barnard 5 located in the Perseus complex, by targeting methanol peaks as signposts for ice mantle evaporation. Observed morphology and abundances of methanol and water are consistent with a transient non-thermal evaporation process only affecting the outermost ice mantle layers, possibly triggering a more complex chemistry. We present the detection of the Complex Organic Molecules (COMs) acetaldehyde and methyl formate as well as formic acid and ketene, and the tentative detection of di-methyl ether towards the methanol hots…
Broadband infrared spectroscopy of methanol isotopologues in pure, H2O-rich, and CO-rich ice analogues
Max-Planck-Institut für extraterrestrische Physik（马克斯·普朗克地外物理学研究所）；University of Kent（肯特大学）；HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research (Atomki)（匈牙利研究与教育网络核物理研究所）；INAF - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania（意大利国家天体物理研究所卡塔尼亚天文台）
Methanol and its precursor formaldehyde are among the most studied organic molecules in the interstellar medium and are abundant in the gaseous and solid phases. We recently developed a model to simulate CO hydrogenation via H atoms on interstellar ice surfaces, the most important interstellar route to H2CO and CH3OH, under laboratory conditions. We extend this model to simulate the formation of both organic species under interstellar conditions, including freeze-out from the gas and hydrogenation on surfaces. Our aim is to compare calculated abundance ratios with observed values and with the …
The ATCA has been used to measure positions with arcsecond accuracy for 379 masers at the 22-GHz transition of water. The principal observation targets were 202 OH masers of the variety associated with star formation regions (SFR)s in the Southern Galactic plane. At a second epoch, most of these targets were observed again, and new targets of methanol masers were added. Many of the water masers reported here are new discoveries. Variability in the masers is often acute, with very few features directly corresponding to those discovered two decades ago. Within our current observations, less than…
We test models of starburst driven outflows using observations of the 22.2 GHz H$_2$O and 36.2 GHz class I CH$_3$OH maser lines. We have observed the starburst galaxy NGC 253 using the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. We present evidence for entrainment of star-forming dense-molecular gas in the outflow of NGC 253. We also show that H$_2$O masers are associated with forming super star clusters and not with supernova remnants. We detect four new 36 GHz CH$_3$OH masers in the central kpc and show possible evidence for a star-formation origin of two class I CH$_3$OH masers. Such high resolution o…
We present the first detection of a 6.7 GHz Class II methanol (CH3OH) maser in the Andromeda galaxy (M31). The CH3OH maser was found in a Very Large Array (VLA) survey during the fall of 2009. We have confirmed the methanol maser with the new Expanded VLA (EVLA), in operation since March 2010, but were unsuccessful in detecting a water maser at this location. A direct application for this methanol maser is the determination of the proper motion of M31, such as was obtained with water masers in M33 and IC10 previously. Unraveling the three-dimensional velocity of M31 would solve for the biggest…
We present the third instalment of a series of catalogues presenting 12.2-GHz methanol maser observations made towards each of the 6.7-GHz methanol masers detected in the Methanol Multibeam (MMB) Survey. The current portion of the catalogue includes the Galactic longitude region 10 to 20 degrees, where we detect 47 12.2-GHz methanol masers towards 99 6.7-GHz targets. We compare the occurrence of 12.2-GHz methanol masers with water maser emission, for which all 6.7-GHz methanol masers in the 6 to 20 degrees longitude range have now been searched. We suggest that the water masers follow a more c…
We present experimental constraints on the insertion of oxygen atoms into methane to form methanol in astrophysical ice analogs. In gas-phase and theoretical studies this process has previously been demonstrated to have a very low or non-existent energy barrier, but the energetics and mechanisms have not yet been characterized in the solid state. We use a deuterium UV lamp filtered by a sapphire window to selectively dissociate O2 within a mixture of O2:CH4 and observe efficient production of CH3OH via O(1D) insertion. CH3OH growth curves are fit with a kinetic model, and we observe no tempera…
The formation of methanol (CH3OH) on icy grain mantles during the star formation cycle is mainly associated with the CO freeze-out stage. Yet there are reasons to believe that CH3OH also can form at an earlier period of interstellar ice evolution in CO-poor and H2O-rich ices. This work focuses on CH3OH formation in a H2O-rich interstellar ice environment following the OH-mediated H-abstraction in the reaction, CH4 + OH. Experimental conditions are systematically varied to constrain the CH3OH formation yield at astronomically relevant temperatures. CH4, O2, and hydrogen atoms are co-deposited i…
The Survey of Water and Ammonia in Nearby galaxies (SWAN) studies atomic and molecular species across the nuclei of four star forming galaxies: NGC\,253, IC\,342, NGC\,6946, and NGC\,2146. As part of this survey, we present Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) molecular line observations of three galaxies: IC\,342, NGC\,6946 and NGC\,2146. NGC\,253 is covered in a previous paper. These galaxies were chosen to span an order of magnitude in star formation rates and to select a variety of galaxy types. We target the metastable transitions of ammonia NH$_{3}$(1,1) to (5,5), the 22\,GHz water (H$_…
We present Karl G Jansky Very Large Array molecular line observations of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253, from SWAN: "Survey of Water and Ammonia in Nearby galaxies". SWAN is a molecular line survey at centimeter wavelengths designed to reveal the physical conditions of star forming gas over a range of star forming galaxies. NGC 253 has been observed in four 1GHz bands from 21 to 36 GHz at 6" ($\sim100$pc) spatial and 3.5 km s$^{-1}$ spectral resolution. In total we detect 19 transitions from seven molecular and atomic species. We have targeted the metastable inversion transitions of ammon…
We present a line survey of the ultra-luminous infrared galaxy Arp 220, taken with the newly installed SEPIA Band 5 instrument on APEX. We illustrate the capacity of SEPIA to detect the 183.3 GHz H2O 31,3-22,0 line against the atmospheric H2O absorption feature. We confirm the previous detection of the HCN(2-1) line, and detect new transitions of standard dense gas tracers such as HNC(2-1), HCO+(2-1), CS(4-3), C34S(4-3), HC3N(20-19). We also detect HCN(2-1) v2=1 and the 193.5 GHz methanol (4-3) group for the first time. The absence of time variations in the megamaser water line compared to pre…
Methanol and water vapour masers are signposts of early stages of high-mass star formation but it is generally thought that due to different excitation processes they probe distinct parts of stellar environments. Here we present observations of the intermediate-mass young stellar object G107.298+5.639, revealing for the first time that 34.4 d flares of the 6.7 GHz methanol maser emission alternate with flares of individual features of the 22 GHz water maser. High angular resolution data reveal that a few components of both maser species showing periodic behaviour coincide in position and veloc…
Backlighting young stellar objects in the Central Molecular Zone: an ensemble-averaged abundance structure of methanol ices
Ewha Womans University（梨花女子大学）；University of Hawaii（夏威夷大学）；Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute（韩国天文与空间科学研究所）；University of Science and Technology, Korea (UST)（韩国科学技术院）
We have conducted a sensitive water maser search with the ATCA towards 267 1.2-mm dust clumps presented in the literature. We combine our new observations with previous water maser observations to extend our sample to 294 1.2-mm dust clumps, towards which we detect 165 distinct water maser sites towards 128 1.2-mm dust clumps. Within the fields of our observations, we additionally find four water masers with no apparent associated 1.2-mm dust continuum emission. Our overall detection rate of 44 per cent appears to vary as a function of Galactic longitude. We find that there is an excellent cor…
In circumstellar gas, the complex organic molecule methanol has been found almost exclusively around young stellar objects, and is thus regarded as a signpost of recent star formation. Here we report the first probable detection of methanol around an evolved high-mass star, in the complex circumstellar environment around the Luminous Blue Variable $η$ Carinae, while using ALMA to investigate molecular cloud conditions traced by CO (2-1) in an orbit phase of the massive binary preceding the 2020 periastron. Favoring methanol over a $^{13}$CS alternative, the emission originates from hot ($T_{\r…
Electron irradiation and temperature-programmed desorption of layered ethanolamine-water-methanol ices
Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, University of Groningen（格罗宁根大学泽尔尼克高级材料研究所）；Center for Astrochemical Studies, Max-Planck-Institut für Extraterrestrische Physik（马克斯·普朗克地外物理研究所天体化学研究中心）；Department of Bioscience, Technical University of Munich（慕尼黑工业大学生物科学系）；Síntesis y Mecanismos de Reacción en Química Orgánica, Departamento de Química, Universidad del Valle（瓦尔莱大学化学系有机化学反应合成与机理）；Semillero de investigación en Astroquímica y Astrobiología (AstroLUCA), Departamento de Química, Universidad del Valle（瓦尔莱大学化学系天体化学与天体生物学研究种子团队（AstroLUCA））；Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Libre（自由大学健康科学学院）；HUN-REN Institute for Nuclear Research（匈牙利研究与创新网络核子研究所）；Institute of Chemistry, University of Debrecen（德布勒森大学化学研究所）；Astronomical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences（斯洛伐克科学院天文研究所）
Large interstellar organic molecules are potential precursors of prebiotic molecules. Their formation pathways and chemical relationships with one another and simpler molecules are therefore of great interest. In this paper, we address the relationship between two classes of large organic molecules, carbon chains and saturated complex organic molecules (COMs), at the early stages of star formation through observations of C4H and CH3OH. We surveyed these molecules with the IRAM 30m telescope toward 16 deeply embedded low-mass protostars selected from the Spitzer c2d ice survey. We find that CH3…
As a product of the maser monitoring program with the 26m telescope of the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO), we present an unprecedented, contemporaneous flaring event of 10 maser transitions in hydroxyl, methanol, and water that began in 2015 January in the massive star-forming region NGC6334I in the velocity range -10 to -2 km/s. The 6.7 GHz methanol and 22.2 GHz water masers began flaring within 22 days of each other, while the 12.2 GHz methanol and 1665 MHz hydroxyl masers flared 80 and 113 days later respectively. The 1665 MHz, 6.7 GHz, and 22.2 GHz masers have all rem…
We investigate the kinematics of high mass protostellar objects within the high mass star forming region IRAS 19410+2336. We performed high angular resolution observations of 6.7-GHz methanol and 22 GHz water masers using the MERLIN (Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network) and e-MERLIN interferometers. The 6.7-GHz methanol maser emission line was detected within the $\sim$ 16--27 km s$^{-1}$ velocity range with a peak flux density $\sim$50 Jy. The maser spots are spread over $\sim$1.3 arcsec on the sky, corresponding to $\sim$2800 au at a distance of 2.16 kpc. These are the first as…
Cold cores are an early step of star formation, characterized by densities > 10$^4$ cm$^{-3}$, low temperatures (< 15 K), and very low external UV radiation. We investigate the physico-chemical processes at play to tracing the origin of molecules that are predominantly formed via reactions on dust grain surfaces. We observed the cold core LDN 429-C with the NOEMA interferometer and the IRAM 30m single dish telescope in order to obtain the gas-phase abundances of key species, including CO and CH$_3$OH. Comparing the observed gas phase of methanol to its solid phase previously observed with Spit…
After more than 30 years of investigations, the nature of gas-grain interactions at low temperatures remains an unresolved issue in astrochemistry. Water ice is the dominant ice found in cold molecular clouds, however, there is only one region where cold (~10 K) water vapor has been detected - L1544. This study aims to shed light on ice desorption mechanisms under cold cloud conditions by expanding the sample. The clumpy distribution of methanol in dark clouds testifies to transient desorption processes at work -- likely to also disrupt water ice mantles. Therefore, the Herschel HIFI instrumen…
The occurrence of complex organic molecules (COMs) in the gas phase at low temperature in the dense phases of the ISM suggests that a non-thermal desorption mechanism is at work because otherwise, COMs should condense within a short timescale onto dust grains. Vacuum ultraviolet photodesorption has been shown to be much less efficient for complex organic molecules, such as methanol, because mostly photoproducts are ejected. The induced photolysis competes with photodesorption for large COMs, considerably lowering the efficiency to desorb intact molecules. We investigate the sputtering efficien…
The relative desorption energies of CO and N$_2$ are key to interpretations of observed interstellar CO and N$_2$ abundance patterns, including the well-documented CO and N$_2$H$^+$ anti-correlations in disks, protostars and molecular cloud cores. Based on laboratory experiments on pure CO and N$_2$ ice desorption, the difference between CO and N$_2$ desorption energies is small; the N$_2$-to-CO desorption energy ratio is 0.93$\pm$0.03. Interstellar ices are not pure, however, and in this study we explore the effect of water ice on the desorption energy ratio of the two molecules. We present t…
Understanding the history and evolution of small bodies, such as dust grains and comets, in planet-forming disks is very important to reveal the architectural laws responsible for the creation of planetary systems. These small bodies in cold regions of the disks are typically considered as mixtures of dust particles with molecular ices, where ices cover the surface of a dust core or are actually physically mixed with dust. Whilst the first case, ice-on-dust, has been intensively studied in the laboratory in recent decades, the second case, ice-mixed-with-dust, present uncharted territory. This…
Observational signatures of infalling envelopes and outflowing material in early stages of protostellar evolution, and at small radii from the protostar, are essential to progress in the understanding of the mass-accretion process in star formation. In this letter, we report a detailed study of the accretion and outflow structure around a protostar in the well-known high-mass star-forming region AFGL 5142. We focus on the mm source MM-1, which exhibits hot-core chemistry, radio continuum emission, and strong water and methanol masers. Remarkably, our Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) ob…
Some protostellar systems show little or no millimetre line emission of complex organics. This can be interpreted as a low abundance of these molecules, alternatively they could be present in the system but are not seen in the gas. The goal is to investigate the latter hypothesis for methanol. We will attempt to answer the question: Does the presence of a disk and optically thick dust reduce methanol emission even if methanol is abundant in the ices and gas? Using the radiative transfer code RADMC-3D, methanol emission lines from an envelope-only model and an envelope-plus-disk model are calcu…
We present the results of a Nobeyama 45-m water maser and ammonia survey of all 94 northern GLIMPSE Extended Green Objects (EGOs), a sample of massive young stellar objects (MYSOs) identified based on their extended 4.5 micron emission. We observed the ammonia (1,1), (2,2), and (3,3) inversion lines, and detect emission towards 97%, 63%, and 46% of our sample, respectively (median rms ~50 mK). The water maser detection rate is 68% (median rms ~0.11 Jy). The derived water maser and clump-scale gas properties are consistent with the identification of EGOs as young MYSOs. To explore the degree of…
We carry out Monte-Carlo simulation to study deuterium enrichment of interstellar grain mantles under various physical conditions. Based on the physical properties, various types of clouds are considered. We find that in diffuse cloud regions, very strong radiation fields persists and hardly a few layers of surface species are formed. In translucent cloud regions with a moderate radiation field, significant number of layers would be produced and surface coverage is mainly dominated by photo-dissociation products such as, C,CH_3,CH_2D,OH and OD. In the intermediate dense cloud regions (having n…
Chemical models and experiments indicate that interstellar dust grains and their ice mantles play an important role in the production of complex organic molecules (COMs). To date, the most complex solid-phase molecule detected with certainty in the ISM is methanol, but the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) may be able to identify still larger organic species. In this study, we use a coupled chemo-dynamical model to predict new candidate species for JWST detection toward the young star-forming core Cha-MMS1, combining the gas-grain chemical kinetic code MAGICKAL with a 1-D radiative hydrodynami…
Aims: Our aim is to determine the critical parameters in water chemistry and the contribution of water to the oxygen budget by observing and modelling water gas and ice for a sample of eleven low-mass protostars, for which both forms of water have been observed. Methods: A simplified chemistry network, which is benchmarked against more sophisticated chemical networks, is developed that includes the necessary ingredients to determine the water vapour and ice abundance profiles in the cold, outer envelope in which the temperature increases towards the protostar. Comparing the results from this c…
Context. "Snow lines", marking regions where abundant volatiles freeze out onto the surface of dust grains, play an important role for planet growth and bulk composition in protoplanetary disks. They can already be observed in the envelopes of the much younger, low-mass Class 0 protostars that are still in their early phase of heavy accretion. Aims. We aim at using the information on the sublimation regions of different kinds of ices to understand the chemistry of the envelope, its temperature and density structure, and the history of the accretion process. Methods. As part of the CALYPSO IRAM…
Deuterated methanol is one of the most robust windows astrochemists have on the individual chemical reactions forming deuterium-bearing molecules and the physicochemical history of the regions where they reside. The first-time detection of mono- and di-deuterated methanol in a cometary coma is presented for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko using Rosetta-ROSINA data. D-methanol (CH3OD and CH2DOH combined) and D2-methanol (CH2DOD and CHD2OH combined) have an abundance of 5.5+/-0.46 and 0.00069+/-0.00014 per cent relative to normal methanol. The data span a methanol deuteration fraction (D/H ratio…
Water ice has a strong spectral feature at a wavelength of approximately $3~μ$m, which plays a vital role in our understanding of the icy universe. In this study, we investigate the scattering polarization of this water-ice feature. The linear polarization degree of light scattered by $μ$m-sized icy grains is known to be enhanced at the ice band; however, the dependence of this polarization enhancement on various grain properties is unclear. We find that the enhanced polarization at the ice band is sensitive to the presence of $μ$m-sized grains as well as their ice abundance. We demonstrate th…
