scholarly journals Discovery of the first Ca-bearing molecule in space: CaNC

2019 ◽  
Vol 627 ◽  
pp. L4 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Cernicharo ◽  
L. Velilla-Prieto ◽  
M. Agúndez ◽  
J. R. Pardo ◽  
J. P. Fonfría ◽  
...  

We report on the detection of calcium isocyanide, CaNC, in the carbon-rich evolved star IRC+10216. We derived a column density for this species of (2 ± 0.5) × 1011 cm−2. Based on the observed line profiles and the modelling of its emission through the envelope, the molecule has to be produced in the intermediate and outer layers of the circumstellar envelope where other metal-isocyanides have previously been found in this source. The abundance ratio of CaNC relative to MgNC and FeCN is ≃1/60 and ≃1, respectively. We searched for the species CaF, CaCl, CaC, CaCCH, and CaCH3 for which accurate frequency predictions are available. Only upper limits have been obtained for these molecules.

2020 ◽  
Vol 500 (1) ◽  
pp. 291-300
Author(s):  
V Braito ◽  
J N Reeves ◽  
P Severgnini ◽  
R Della Ceca ◽  
L Ballo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Past Suzaku, XMM–Newton, and NuSTAR observations of the nearby (z = 0.03233) bright Seyfert 2 galaxy MCG-03-58-007 revealed the presence of two deep and blue-shifted iron K-shell absorption line profiles. These could be explained with the presence of two phases of a highly ionized, high column density accretion disc wind outflowing with vout1 ∼ −0.1c and vout2 ∼ −0.2c. Here we present two new observations of MCG-03-58-007: one was carried out in 2016 with Chandra and one in 2018 with Swift. Both caught MCG-03-58-007 in a brighter state ($F_{{\mathrm{2}-10\, keV}} \sim 4 \times 10^{-12}$ erg cm−2 s−1) confirming the presence of the fast disc wind. The multi-epoch observations of MCG-03-58-007 covering the period from 2010 to 2018 were then analysed. These data show that the lower velocity component outflowing with vout1 ∼ −0.072 ± 0.002c is persistent and detected in all the observations, although it is variable in column density in the range NH ∼ 3–8 × 1023 cm−2. In the 2016 Swift observation we detected again the second faster component outflowing with vout2 ∼ −0.2c, with a column density ($N_{\mbox{H}}=7.0^{+5.6}_{-4.1}\times 10^{23}$ cm−2), similar to that seen during the Suzaku observation. However during the Chandra observation 2 yr earlier, this zone was not present (NH < 1.5 × 1023 cm−2), suggesting that this faster zone is intermittent. Overall the multi-epochs observations show that the disc wind in MCG-03-58-007 is not only powerful, but also extremely variable, hence placing MCG-03-58-007 among unique disc winds such as the one seen in the famous QSO PDS456. One of the main results of this investigation is the consideration that these winds could be extremely variable, sometime appearing and sometime disappearing; thus to reach solid and firm conclusions about their energetics multiple observations are mandatory.


1977 ◽  
Vol 43 ◽  
pp. 9-9
Author(s):  
G.E. Brueckner ◽  
J.D.F. Bartoe ◽  
M.E. VanHoosier

High spectral (0,05 Å) and spatial (⋍ 1000 km) resolution spectra of the Fe XII line 1349.4 Å reveal the existence of coronal fine structures in the quiet sun against the solar disk. These coronal bright elements have an average size of 2000-3000 km; their column density can be 3 x 1017 cm –2 . In the quiet sun, outward streaming velocities of 10-15 km sec –1 can be measured by means of the Doppler effect. The total kinetic and thermal energy of the outstreaming gas can be estimated to be larger than 1 x 10 5 ergs cm –2 sec –1, enough to account for the heating of the corona and the losses of the solar wind. At the outer limb (cos θ ⋍0.1) line profiles show a strong blue asymmetry, which could be caused by expanding material in a piston-driven shock, whereby the opaque, cool piston causes the asymmetry of the line profile.


1987 ◽  
Vol 115 ◽  
pp. 145-146
Author(s):  
T. L. Wilson ◽  
E. Serabyn ◽  
C. Henkel ◽  
C. M. Walmsley

A fully sampled map of size ∼1′×3′ (R.A. Dec), centered on BN-KL has been made in the J = 1-0 line of 12C18O with 21″ angular resolution. The 12C18O emission is concentrated in a ← 40″ wide continuous strip running S to NE. Several maxima are superposed on the ridge, but none exceeds the average emission level by more than 40%. There is no intense peak of 12C18O J = 1-0 line emission centered on BN-KL, in contrast to maps of the dust emission. The dust and 12C18O results can be reconciled with a constant (CO/H2) ratio if there are variations in the kinetic temperature and column density of ∼50%. Peaks in both temperature and column density are then located near BN-KL, and 90″ to the south. From the estimated CO column density, about 10% of the carbon is in the form of CO. Near the BN-KL region, the 12C18O line profiles tend to become wider. These wider lines appear to be superposed on a weak, 18 km s−1 (FWHP) wide pedestal. In regions 40″ NE and 30″ S of BN-KL, the 12C18O lines have widths of less than 2 km s−1. Presumably, these are the locations of high density, quiescent molecular gas. The radial velocity of the CO emission increases from 6.5 km s−1 (at 90″ S) to 10.5 km s−1 (at 60″ NE) of BN-KL. Close to BN-KL, however, there is evidence that this trend is reversed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 494 (3) ◽  
pp. 3627-3641 ◽  
Author(s):  
J R Allison ◽  
E M Sadler ◽  
S Bellstedt ◽  
L J M Davies ◽  
S P Driver ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We present early science results from the First Large Absorption Survey in H i (FLASH), a spectroscopically blind survey for 21-cm absorption lines in cold hydrogen (H i) gas at cosmological distances using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP). We have searched for H i absorption towards 1253 radio sources in the GAMA 23 field, covering redshifts between z = 0.34 and 0.79 over a sky area of approximately 50 deg2. In a purely blind search, we did not obtain any detections of 21-cm absorbers above our reliability threshold. Assuming a fiducial value for the H i spin temperature of Tspin = 100 K and source covering fraction cf = 1, the total comoving absorption path-length sensitive to all Damped Lyman α Absorbers (DLAs; NH i ≥ 2 × 1020 cm−2) is ΔX = 6.6 ± 0.3 (Δz = 3.7 ± 0.2) and super-DLAs (NH i ≥ 2 × 1021 cm−2) is ΔX = 111 ± 6 (Δz= 63 ± 3). We estimate upper limits on the H i column density frequency distribution function that are consistent with measurements from prior surveys for redshifted optical DLAs, and nearby 21-cm emission and absorption. By cross-matching our sample of radio sources with optical spectroscopic identifications of galaxies in the GAMA 23 field, we were able to detect 21-cm absorption at z = 0.3562 towards NVSS J224500−343030, with a column density of $N_{\rm H\,\small{I}} = (1.2 \pm 0.1) \times 10^{20}\, (T_{\rm spin}/100\, \mathrm{K})$ cm−2. The absorber is associated with GAMA J22450.05−343031.7, a massive early-type galaxy at an impact parameter of 17 kpc with respect to the radio source and which may contain a massive (MH i ≳ 3 × 109 M⊙) gas disc. Such gas-rich early types are rare, but have been detected in the nearby Universe.


2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shun Ishii ◽  
Fumitaka Nakamura ◽  
Yoshito Shimajiri ◽  
Ryohei Kawabe ◽  
Takashi Tsukagoshi ◽  
...  

AbstractWe present results of the classification of cloud structures toward the Orion A Giant Molecular Cloud based on wide-field 12CO (J = 1–0), 13CO (J = 1–0), and C18O (J = 1–0) observations using the Nobeyama 45 m radio telescope. We identified 78 clouds toward Orion A by applying Spectral Clustering for Interstellar Molecular Emission Segmentation (SCIMES) to the data cube of the column density of 13CO. Well-known subregions such as OMC-1, OMC-2/3, OMC-4, OMC-5, NGC 1977, L1641-N, and the dark lane south filament (DLSF) are naturally identified as distinct structures in Orion A. These clouds can also be classified into three groups: the integral-shaped filament, the southern regions of Orion A, and the other filamentary structures in the outer parts of Orion A and the DLSF. These groups show differences in scaling relations between the physical properties of the clouds. We derived the abundance ratio between 13CO and C18O, $X_{^{13}\mathrm{CO}}/X_{\mathrm{C}^{18}\mathrm{O}}$, which ranges from 5.6 to 17.4 on median over the individual clouds. The significant variation of $X_{^{13}\mathrm{CO}}/X_{\mathrm{C}^{18}\mathrm{O}}$ is also seen within a cloud in both the spatial and velocity directions and the ratio tends to be high at the edge of the cloud. The values of $X_{^{13}\mathrm{CO}}/X_{\mathrm{C}^{18}\mathrm{O}}$ decrease from 17 to 10 with the median of the column densities of the clouds at the column density of $N_{\mathrm{C^{18}O}} \gtrsim 1 \times 10^{15}\:$cm−2 or visual extinction of AV ≳ 3 mag under the strong far-ultraviolet (FUV) environment of G0 > 103, whereas it is almost independent of the column density in the weak FUV radiation field. These results are explained if the selective photodissociation of C18O is enhanced under a strong FUV environment and it is suppressed in the dense part of the clouds.


1987 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 84-86
Author(s):  
D. R. Gies ◽  
David McDavid

Evidence is now accumulating that many Be stars display photospheric line profile variations on timescales of days or less that are probably caused by nonradial pulsations (Baade 1984; Penrod 1986). In some circumstances these pulsations can promote mass loss into the circumstellar envelope, and consequently the conditions in the inner part of the envelope may vary on similar timescales. Changes in the envelope could produce variations in the polarization and emission line profiles, and observers have reported rapid variability in both. We describe here an initial attempt to search for simultaneous variations in continuum polarization, Hα emission, and the He I λ6678 photospheric absorption line in order to investigate correlated changes on short timescales.


2018 ◽  
Vol 617 ◽  
pp. A95 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Calcutt ◽  
M. R. Fiechter ◽  
E. R. Willis ◽  
H. S. P. Müller ◽  
R. T. Garrod ◽  
...  

Context. Methyl isocyanide (CH3NC) is the isocyanide with the largest number of atoms confirmed in the interstellar medium (ISM), but it is not an abundant molecule, having only been detected towards a handful of objects. Conversely, its isomer, methyl cyanide (CH3CN), is one of the most abundant complex organic molecules detected in the ISM, with detections in a variety of low- and high-mass sources. Aims. The aims of this work are to determine the abundances of methyl isocyanide in the solar-type protostellar binary IRAS 16293–2422 and to understand the stark abundance differences observed between methyl isocyanide and methyl cyanide in the ISM. Methods. We use Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations from the Protostellar Interferometric Line Survey (PILS) to search for methyl isocyanide and compare its abundance with that of its isomer methyl cyanide. We use a new line catalogue from the Cologne Database for Molecular Spectroscopy (CDMS) to identify methyl isocyanide lines. We also model the chemistry with an updated version of the three-phase chemical kinetics model MAGICKAL, presenting the first chemical modelling of methyl isocyanide to date. Results. We detect methyl isocyanide for the first time in a solar-type protostar, IRAS 16293–2422 B, and present upper limits for its companion protostar, IRAS 16293–2422 A. Methyl isocyanide is found to be at least 20 times more abundant in source B compared to source A, with a CH3CN/CH3NC abundance ratio of 200 in IRAS 16293–2422 B and >5517 in IRAS 16293–2422 A. We also present the results of a chemical model of methyl isocyanide chemistry in both sources, and discuss the implications for methyl isocyanide formation mechanisms and the relative evolutionary stages of both sources. The chemical modelling is unable to match the observed CH3CN/CH3NC abundance ratio towards the B source at densities representative of that source. The modelling, however, is consistent with the upper limits for the A source. There are many uncertainties in the formation and destruction pathways of methyl isocyanide, and it is therefore not surprising that the initial modelling attempts do not reproduce observations. In particular, it is clear that some destruction mechanism of methyl isocyanide that does not destroy methyl cyanide is needed. Furthermore, these initial model results suggest that the final density plays a key role in setting the abundance ratio. The next steps are therefore to obtain further detections of methyl isocyanide in more objects, as well as undertaking more detailed physico-chemical modelling of sources such as IRAS16293.


1985 ◽  
Vol 106 ◽  
pp. 431-434
Author(s):  
Elly M. Berkhuijsen ◽  
Ulrich Klein

The radial distributions of the surface brightness or column density of thermal and nonthermal radio emission, far-infrared (FIR) emission, blue light, HI and CO in the Sc galaxies M33 and M51 are compared with the corresponding distributions in the Galaxy. Information on the variation of the absorption at Hα and on the variation of the abundance ratio O/H is also shown.


2019 ◽  
Vol 623 ◽  
pp. L6 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Podio ◽  
F. Bacciotti ◽  
D. Fedele ◽  
C. Favre ◽  
C. Codella ◽  
...  

Context. Planets form in protoplanetary disks and inherit their chemical compositions. Aims. It is thus crucial to map the distribution and investigate the formation of simple organics, such as formaldehyde and methanol, in protoplanetary disks. Methods. We analyze ALMA observations of the nearby disk-jet system around the T Tauri star DG Tau in the o − H2CO 31, 2 − 21, 1 and CH3OH 3−2, 2 − 4−1, 4 E, 50, 5 − 40, 4 A transitions at an unprecedented resolution of $ {\sim}0{{\overset{\prime\prime}{.}}}{15} $, i.e., ∼18 au at a distance of 121 pc. Results. The H2CO emission originates from a rotating ring extending from ∼40 au with a peak at ∼62 au, i.e., at the edge of the 1.3 mm dust continuum. CH3OH emission is not detected down to an rms of 3 mJy beam−1 in the 0.162 km s−1 channel. Assuming an ortho-to-para ratio of 1.8−2.8 the ring- and disk-height-averaged H2CO column density is ∼0.3−4 × 1014 cm−2, while that of CH3OH is < 0.04−0.7 × 1014 cm−2. In the inner 40 au no o − H2CO emission is detected with an upper limit on its beam-averaged column density of ∼0.5−6 × 1013 cm−2. Conclusions. The H2CO ring in the disk of DG Tau is located beyond the CO iceline (RCO ∼ 30 au). This suggests that the H2CO abundance is enhanced in the outer disk due to formation on grain surfaces by the hydrogenation of CO ice. The emission peak at the edge of the mm dust continuum may be due to enhanced desorption of H2CO in the gas phase caused by increased UV penetration and/or temperature inversion. The CH3OH/H2CO abundance ratio is < 1, in agreement with disk chemistry models. The inner edge of the H2CO ring coincides with the radius where the polarization of the dust continuum changes orientation, hinting at a tight link between the H2CO chemistry and the dust properties in the outer disk and at the possible presence of substructures in the dust distribution.


2018 ◽  
Vol 619 ◽  
pp. A127 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Biver ◽  
D. Bockelée-Morvan ◽  
G. Paubert ◽  
R. Moreno ◽  
J. Crovisier ◽  
...  

We present a multi-wavelength study of comet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS). This comet was observed on 23 and 24 January 2018 with the IRAM 30 m telescope, and in January to March 2018 with the Nançay radio telescope. Visible spectroscopy was performed in December 2017 and February 2018 with small amateur telescopes. We report on measurements of CO, CH3OH, H2CO and HCN production rates, and on the determination of the N2/CO abundance ratio. Several other species, especially OH, were searched for but not detected. The inferred relative abundances, including upper limits for sulfur species, are compared to those measured in other comets at about the same heliocentric distance of ~2.8 AU. The coma composition of comet C/2016 R2 is very different from all other comets observed so far, being rich in N2 and CO and dust poor. This suggests that this comet might belong to a very rare group of comets formed beyond the N2 ice line. Alternatively, comet C/2016 R2 (PanSTARRS) could be the fragment of a large and differentiated transneptunian object, with properties characteristic of volatile-enriched layers.


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