Herschel/HIFI discovery of interstellar chloronium (H2Cl+)
Journal article, 2010
We report the first detection of chloronium, H_2Cl^+, in the interstellar medium, using the HIFI instrument aboard the Herschel Space Observatory. The 2_12-1_01 lines of ortho-H\_2^35Cl^+ and ortho-H\_2^37Cl^+ are detected in absorption towards NGC 6334I, and the 1_11-0_00 transition of para-H\_2^35Cl^+ is detected in absorption towards NGC 6334I and Sgr B2(S). The H_2Cl^+ column densities are compared to those of the chemically-related species HCl. The derived HCl/H_2Cl^+ column density ratios, ~1-10, are within the range predicted by models of diffuse and dense photon dominated regions (PDRs). However, the observed H_2Cl^+ column densities, in excess of 10^13 cm^-2, are significantly higher than the model predictions. Our observations demonstrate the outstanding spectroscopic capabilities of HIFI for detecting new interstellar molecules and providing key constraints for astrochemical models.
submillimetre: ISM
astrochemistry
molecular processes
Line: identification
ISM: abundances
ISM: molecules
Author
D. C. Lis
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
J. C. Pearson
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
D. A. Neufeld
Johns Hopkins University
P. Schilke
University of Cologne
H. S. P. Müller
University of Cologne
H. Gupta
National Science Foundation
T. A. Bell
Spanish Astrobiology Center (INTA-CSIC)
C. Comito
Forschungszentrum Jülich
T. G. Phillips
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
E. A. Bergin
University of Michigan
C. Ceccarelli
Grenoble Alpes University
P. F. Goldsmith
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
G. A. Blake
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
A. Bacmann
Grenoble Alpes University
A. Baudry
University of Bordeaux
M. Benedettini
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
A. Benz
University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland
John H Black
Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics
A. Boogert
University of Hawaii
S. Bottinelli
Paul Sabatier University
S. Cabrit
Paris Observatory
P. Caselli
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
A. Castets
Grenoble Alpes University
E. Caux
Paul Sabatier University
J. Cernicharo
CSIC - Instituto de Fisica Fundamental (IFF)
C. Codella
Arcetri Astrophysical Observatory
A. Coutens
University of Bordeaux
N. Crimier
ProbaYes SAS
N. R. Crockett
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
F. Daniel
Grenoble Alpes University
K. Demyk
Paul Sabatier University
C. Dominic
Radboud University
M.-L. Dubernet
Paris Observatory
M. Emprechtinger
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
P. Encrenaz
Paris Observatory
E. Falgarone
Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)
A. Fuente
Spanish National Observatory (OAN)
M. Gerin
Paris Observatory
T. F. Giesen
University of Kassel
J. R. Goicoechea
CSIC - Instituto de Fisica Fundamental (IFF)
F. Helmich
University of Groningen
P. Hennebelle
Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)
T. Henning
Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
E. Herbst
University of Virginia
P. Hily-Blant
Grenoble Alpes University
Åke Hjalmarson
Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics
D. Hollenbach
SETI Institute
T. Jack
University of Bordeaux
C. Joblin
National Museum of Botswana
D. Johnstone
University of Victoria
C. Kahane
Grenoble Alpes University
M. Kama
University College London (UCL)
M. Kaufman
San Jose State University
A. Klotz
Paul Sabatier University
W. D. Langer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
B. Larsson
Stockholm University
J. Le Bourlot
Paris Observatory
B. Lefloch
Grenoble Alpes University
F. Le Petit
Paris Observatory
D. Li
University of KwaZulu-Natal
René Liseau
Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Radio Astronomy and Astrophysics
S. D. Lord
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
A. Lorenzani
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Maret
Grenoble Alpes University
P. G. Martin
Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics
G. J. Melnick
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
K. M. Menten
Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
P. Morris
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
J. A. Murphy
Maynooth University
Z. Nagy
Konkoly Observatory
B. Nisini
Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma
V. Ossenkopf
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Pacheco
Institut de Planetologie et d'Astrophysique de Grenoble
L. Pagani
Sorbonne University
B. Parise
Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
M. Pérault
Ecole Normale Superieure (ENS)
R. Plume
University of Calgary
S.-L. Qin
Yunnan University
E. Roueff
Paris Observatory
M. Salez
Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)
A. Sandqvist
Stockholm Observatory
P. Saraceno
Istituto nazionale di astrofisica (INAF)
S. Schlemmer
University of Cologne
K. Schuster
Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM)
R. Snell
University of Massachusetts
J. Stutzki
University of Cologne
A. Tielens
Leiden University
N. Trappe
Maynooth University
F. F. S. van der Tak
University of Groningen
M. H. D. van der Wiel
Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON)
E. van Dishoeck
Leiden University
C. Vastel
Paul Sabatier University
S. Viti
Leiden University
V. Wakelam
University of Bordeaux
A. Walters
Paul Sabatier University
S. Wang
University of Michigan
F. Wyrowski
Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
H. W. Yorke
Universities Space Research Association
S. Yu
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology
J. Zmuidzinas
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Y. Delorme
Paris Observatory
J.-P. Desbat
University of Bordeaux
R. Güsten
Max-Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy
J.-M. Krieg
Sorbonne University
B. Delforge
University of Groningen
Astronomy and Astrophysics
0004-6361 (ISSN) 1432-0746 (eISSN)
Vol. 521 1 L9Subject Categories
Astronomy, Astrophysics and Cosmology
Roots
Basic sciences
DOI
10.1051/0004-6361/201014959